A Semi-normal Life
by Numb Virus
Summary: A damned party , unmatched groups , unspoken truths and a battel through life to prove someone wrong . Here our favorite shamans are turned into normal teens obliged to go to hell aka high school , god have mercy for nothing will be the same after their souls link.
1. getting started

**NV: good morning/afternoon/evening anyone who bothered to check this out . I wrote this for my own enjoyment , thinking it would be nice to give all the shaman king characters a chance to a semi-normal life away from all the pain they experienced.**

**Well here they are, the SK cast as non-shaman 16 years old teens except for Tamao , Pilika , Jeanne and Mari who are 15 ( they entered school a year before they were supposed to ,that way they can still be in the same class as the others) , on we go …hope Hao doesn't blow up.**

**pairings : YohXAnna, RenXJeanne, HoroHoroXDamko, ChocoloveXPilika, LysergXMatilda, slightly MantaXMari probebly at the end and a lot of HaoXTamao( I love them two).**

**Almost forgot "disclaim: I DON'T OWN SHAMAN KING ".**

It was another beautiful day in funbari . the sun shone over the city delicately as if not daring to disturb it's habitant … well some of them specifically , unluckily that did not prevent said individuals from …doing their thing.

" YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH WAKE THE HELL UP YOU LAZY BUM"

" I am up ,I am up please don't kill me , I am up" begged Asakura Yoh while rushing downstairs wearing nothing but clear blue jeans and his trademark orange head-phones hanging as usually around his neck, to his girlfriend/fiancée the almighty infamous Anna kyoyama.

" THE HELL WEAR YOU SHIRT YOU BAKA " yelled back the charming blonde after giving him an extraordinary left slap, her way of saying " good morning darling" .

" Oh sorry " her always grinning boyfriend once again smiled as he wore the white t-shirt he had picked off before rushing out of his room.

After being obeyed , the ice queen ( yet another nickname of her majesty) turned around and slowly walked toward the kitchen , followed by a yawning Yoh (yes, he got slapped and still didn't fully awake …talk about lazy)

" I see you went gently on my otoutou this time dear Anna " greeted sarcastically Yoh's stylish fan girls-magnet twin brother as he sat on the breakfast table elegantly sipping his cup of coffee , his long silky reddish-brown hair falling down his back , wearing a half buttoned red chemise , black straight pants , and his black jacket with their school emblem on its left and only pocket ( the only part of their school uniform he agreed to wear saying the disgusting military green pants and neck tie would never touch his skin , he was not superficial or anything but he still cared a minimum about his looks people! ) resting on the armchair.

"Nii- san why didn't you wake me up?" wined Yoh as he sat beside his beloved who was at the moment too busy glaring daggers at his twin to notice him.

" I guess it slipped my mind ", answered Hao with a smirk " honestly Anna it's 6:00 am school doesn't start 'till eight ,you should relax and let my poor baby brother have some rest " added he , then smirked at her " or is it that you're afraid if he isn't around you might start having temptations ? ".

"Not even in your dreams ,Hao " she coldly spate " and if it was not for your groupies attacking us each damn morning we wouldn't be obliged to wake up this early to arrive in time to our class " added she while serving herself a mug of coffee.

" Only joking , and don't put the blame on me dear Anna I told you to go without me but you wouldn't ne ? " he smiled innocently…innocent demon that is .

" Kino- san asked me to make sure you attended class and I am not about to let her down " firmly declared his interlocutor while her fiancé yawned for the tenth time that morning.

" I am the best student in the whole school "said he nonchalantly taking another sip of his beverage "you should rather worry about Yoh".

At the mention of his name the miserably happy lazy guy jerked his head up at his brother.

" Nii-saaan" as if Anna didn't push him enough thought he , it had been a year since his twin got back from America where he lived with family acquaintances while studying astronomy on an academic level for three years .you see , his dear, dear twin was not only popular among the ladies and an expert in several material arts and fighting styles ( he himself was not bad , he was actually pretty gifted when it came to samurais' techniques) but he also had an incredibly ridiculously high IQ ,which gave him the option to skip hell aka high-school , but NO he decided to come back ( who said a big IQ meant he wasn't a fool ?) of course Yoh adored seeing his brother everyday again , especially after their father passed away ,but really putting ideas in Anna's head could he be any crueler ?

"Yoh stop whining and go put your uniform on already" commanded the ice queen starting to feel annoyed.

" B-but Anna I haven't had breakfast yet"

" You don't drink coffee and that is all we have today"

" But … " he could literally feel tears coming to his eyes as his stomach growled . He really missed the time when they still lived with his parents and grand-parents back then Anna didn't wake him up so brutally and they always had good satisfying meals too, why? why was life so unfair and cruel toward him ?

Just when he was about to stand up to execute his dear's command a feminine voice was heard calmly announcing " I am home"

" Looks like Tamao's gonna save you again otoutou " smiled Hao

And indeed Tamao Tamamura went in holding a couple of grocery bags , her waist length pink hair left loose down her shoulders , wearing her school uniform consisting of a military green skirt ending just above the knees , a white chemise , a black jacket (all had the emblem on them of course ), white socks and a pair of black baskets . as soon as she put the bags on the table Yoh leapt toward them bringing out two oranges and proceeded to peel them happily.

" Thank you ,thank you so mush Tamao you saved my life"

"You're welcome " she simply replied while taking her seat beside Hao and in front of Anna long gone were the times when she would blush at his mere sight .Tamao had changed a lot since they were kids ,her close relationship with Anna probably had something to do with it thought the relieved orange-lover

" You shouldn't have bothered yourself "

" It's not a problem Anna–san , Ryu-san had to go grocery shopping for his restaurant pretty early today I wanted to accompany him and in my way I brought a few things that is all " responded the pink-haired girl with a smile " by the way he said he might be late tonight ,he has a date with kanna –san"

" She agreed to go out on a date with him ? " asked Yoh unable to believe what he just heard.

She nodded.

" Well , good for the old pedophile at least he won't be sticking to you anymore " said Hao smirking as he put his cup in the sink

3Don't call him that" she sighed , calmly defending the ex-Asakura-household cook ,even though she had to admit his actions where sometimes a bit scary especially when she was still a kid.

" Anyway we should be going , you two get dressed we'll wait outside the house " said he to the couple still enjoying their meal as wearing his jacket and ranger boots in the entrance hall

Anna growled , yet stud up and went to her room to change as did Yoh , five minutes later they were both in their uniforms and out of the house, where Hao and Tamao silently awaited.

" Let's go " said the earlier one then walked away not even bothering to wait for them to step out of the front yard's gate.

-End of the epilogue-

**NV: I used the after manga picture and character for Tamao , I wanted her to be herself in her appropriate age like all of them and since Takai said she had her profile evolution while in high school I thought it would be better .**


	2. this is bad

**NV : ok ,here we go again**

**Disclaim : Please note that I do not own shaman king ( all including NV: thank god )**

**On with the story**

**O.O.O.O.O**

After being hounded around by the rabid category of Hao's fan girls for half an hour , the twins arrived panting to shinra's international boarding school's gate where Anna and Tamao who were smart enough to split from the boys during the chase and take a short cut , patiently awaited …well patiently not really since Anna was taping her foot, arms crossed over her chest ,giving them her coldest death glair ,as for tamao ear-phones plugged in , she seemed to be too taken away by the song she was listening to care about them

" Why did it take you so long?" said the ice queen to her boyfriend in a tone so low and so menacing at the same time , that it made him shiver

"I ...I tried to part from nii-san and let him take care of it , but since …since you … you weren't there they started coming after me too " said he twin water-falls coming down his eyes ,feeling his embarrassment and fear rise with each word

"Yoh…" she hissed

" That's what happen when you try bailing on your brother , Yoh " teased Hao looking as if he just finished cleaning up when three minutes earlier he was running in circles around funbari followed by a hyper bunch of girls with quite disturbing thoughts on what they would do to him if they happened to catch him

Yoh was trying to come up with a comeback when a loud, loud , as in LOUD "hey , guys" coming from a distance stopped him , the three teenagers ( tamao was still too preoccupied with her song ) looked toward the blue-haired inue running their way waiving his hand at them followed by an equally blue-haired girl who on the opposite of him was wearing her uniform correctly and not as if she put it on in the dark

" Yo Horohoro , Pilika what 's up ? " grind the shorter-haired Asakura

" Nothing much , except my baka brother caused us to be late again " answered an irritated Pilika walking toward Anna and Tamao to greet them

" It's not my fault I slammed the door yesterday and forgot the key mum and dad gave us while they are away , I was so hungry I forget that the door shuts automatically when we slam it , if you prepared proper food nothing would have happened ? " vigorously responded the accused teen

" I SWEAR IF YOU WERN'T MY BROTHER I'D KILL YA " yelled his younger sister

" No need I 'd gladly take that charge if you want " offered the Chinese spiked haired ,golden-eyed sixteen years old boy coming out of a black fancy limo parked near them ( he at least wore the uniform tie properly )

" DON'T GET INVOLVED IN THE CONVERSATION ,ITS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS YOU SHARK HEAD "

Sparks, bullets, nuclear bombs ...ect came out of the two "friends" eyes as they glared at each other ,each ready to strike at any moment

Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing rang the ultra annoying school bell

All, but the two anticipating fighters sighted

" Saved by the bath " sing-sang the American transfer student, popping out of nowhere " did you catch that?"

Crickets could be heard for a looong moment of silence ,before Pilika practically fell to the ground laughing her heart out saying she got it , mush to the delight of the comedian wanna be aka chocolove

" DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM PILIKA" yelled Horohoro

Yoh looked around

" Anna where's aniki ? " he asked

" Why should I know? " Backfired the blonde turning around taking the usual way up to their common class

" He went in after Ren and Horohoro started their daily arguments " answered Tamao stuffing her ear-phones in her pockets , calmly following Anna's lead

" Oh " and yet another goofy grin ( someone give him a reward or something -sigh-)

When all were finally in their joined class , the well-known S5 –k7 class room once more welcomed those who made its reputation

Hao was already seated in the middle of the second row absently looking at his phone, Lyserge was also there sitting in the first table of the third row chatting happily with Jeanne who was beside him trying very hard to ignore the not so well hidden mockeries of Mari and especially Machi both seated on each of Hao's sides (fan girls much?... at least they were not rabid ones that's good) , poor girl , good thing Lyserg was also European and became friends with her, of course he was not her only friend there was also Tamao–chan and her new neighbor , if only he would talk to her while in school but he …she was brought back from her thoughts by Lyserg waving his hand in front of her face

"What were you saying ?...I am sorry Lyserg-san I spaced out"

" I could see " answered her English comrade with a sweet smile

She smiled back feeling sort of embarrassed, when she saw her long pink haired best friend walking toward them parting from Yoh , Anna , Horohoro , his sister , Chocolove and then there was also her neighbor Tao Ren who each tuck their respective seating while chatting happily ( taking out anna and Ren obviously )

Tamao was smiling kindly , Jeanne was her closest friend sometimes she felt as if she was her only one too , but that was not fair , she knew the others considered her as much their friend as were Yoh and Anna , Anna was a wonderful person ( despite her ice queen cover) as well but their one year of age difference and her feelings…past feelings towards Yoh created a gap between them , things were different around Jeanne

"Tamao- chan good morning " greeted the albino

" Hey Jeanne–chan , lyserg–kun"

The green haired boy smiled shyly at her then went greet the others,leaving them to their privacy , Jeanne had suspicions that he had a crush on Tamao but never dared to address her about it , even due Tamao changed a lot and became a very strong young lady , Jeanne knew that some things never change like her attachment to her childhood first love ( not that Tamao would ever admit it to her) , she hoped Lyserg wouldn't get hurt , he was a real angel to everyone …bar Hao , the long haired asakura used to tease and bully him a lot , he still does when bored , Jeanne could not believe she used to be in …love with the womanizer that she thought she could bring him back to the right path, how foolish had she been? in the end it was better that he broke up with her , before their relationship evolved any further ,that would have destroyed her , to be honest now after three months she was very grateful he didn't tuck advantage of her emotions because back then she was quite ready and prepared to give him everything she got , that would have been the last strike to her heart , yes she was grateful

The bell rang again as if a madman operated it , their homeroom teacher entered , silently, wearing a classic brown pair of pants , a white chemise , black tie , his brownish leather file- holder Under his arm, his smooth long black hair tied in a ponytail , all respected the man ( well with Hao respect was to mush to ask for so …you know) Mr. Silva was a very good hearted person ,and an excellent teacher besides he was what you could describe as a cool guy …most of the time

The students sat , Yoh in front of his brother and beside Anna with Tamao in front of him , Horohoro after Lyserg followed by Mari and Chocolove , Jeanne in the upfront of the first row with Ren , Machi, then Pilika in her back

" I see there is an absent "observed Silva

Before anyone could respond the door slammed open , reveling a blond boy with very …interesting body height , panting while clutching to his dictionary as if it was his ticket to escape an upcoming apocalypse

" I -pant- missed - pant- the bus - pant- again - pant -sorry "

The teacher sighted as Yoh waved his hand at the newcomer grinning happily

" Fine , mister Oyamada , please take your seat"

Manta didn't have to be told so twice he rushed to his seat behind Hao ( he wouldn't take the empty one at the front right before Tamao's, saying he could perfectly see from his place which was not exactly true , so he developed the habit to sit over a long bunch of large books … very smart ne?:))

"Since you are all here , there is an important announcement I have to make " declared the teacher sounding really ,really down

Somehow all of them felt something bad coming except Hao who smirked in enjoyment knowing what was about to be said

**End of chapter one , see you soon dear chums …O.O that sounded wearied in my mouth**

**Anyway R&amp;R , or not please yourselves**


	3. I'll kill him

**NV : chapter two …how wonderful , ne ?**

**Disclaim : this is boring if you didn't catch this yet then you are idiots , but " I DON'T FREAKING OWN SHAMAN KING"**

Silva yet again sighed , cleared his throat ,looked at each of his students right in the eyes then (drum role )

" Youareinchargeofthefreshmenwelcomingparty"

" NANI?! " They all yelled in union taking out the smirking Hao

"You are in charge of the freshmen welcoming party "repeated the foreigner teacher in a slower more intelligible way

Silence , a fly's buzzing noise , then

" WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT ? WHY THE HELL ? WASN'T IT SUPPOSED TO BE THE SENIORES DUTY WHY THE HELL DO WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THAT SHIT ? " screamed a very angered Horohoro on top of his lungs after standing and jumping up his table

Poor Lyserg in front of him fell backward on his seat nearly losing his hearing , him being the nearest to the inue

"It really coasts me to say this but I agree with inue baka here " declared Ren shooting a menacing glair at Silva

"THANK YOU!…WAIT A MINUTE WHAT DID YOU CALL ME ?"

" Stupid and now going deaf ,you are surely a pitiful guy"

" Please calm down " interfered the long haired teacher before a new fight broke " it is your newly assigned students' body president who offered that you take their place and they accepted with oh sooooooooooooo great gratitude" added he pointing to someone in the small crowd

All those who didn't have previous knowledge of this , turned their gase toward the said students' body president , who merely tossed his long silky hair over his shoulders and waived a hand at them all while smiling innocently

" I'LL KILL HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM " shrieked both Ren and Horo simultaneously , immediately leaping from opposite directions toward him

" Noooooooooooooooo, nii–san " yelled a frightened Yoh ( was he worried for his brother's sake or his two friends' ?you choose )

But too late, his brother had stepped calmly out of their trajectory, just when the two were about to strike him, causing them to clash and fall to the ground

" My oh my , are you guys alright ?" asked he in a mocking voice looking down at the two figures

The spiked haired Chinese immediately shoot up yelling a " KISAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" worthy of entering gines' records book

Silva was about to cut in when Anna raised from her seat slowly walking up to her brother-in-law to be , recognizing the threat he thought better of it and backed away ( even the teacher is afraid of her... GO ICE QUEEN )

"I am the one who'll kill this ass-hole " she hissed eye-brows twitching slightly

" Now don't use bad words dear Anna , you know you can do nothing against me " he responded smirking at her all the way through

she glared at him a glare that would have killed the weaker men , clenched her fists , turned around punched her idiot of a fiancé who was behind her trying to calm her down ,sending him flying to hit the white board then regained her seating

" I see …oranges , nii-san give me one , I am hungry" muttered Yoh , then "bam" he fainted and joined Horo-horo in the oblivious

" Poor otoutou , you are making a fuss about nothing really " declared his twin to the still conscience members of their class " it's only a party "

"Only a party ?" asked Manta incredulously "it's a promise of misery , each year a catastrophe happen"

" Last year's was fun "

" Last year was our freshmen party we didn't have to **organize** it " wined his twin after magically waking up

" And just to point it out **YOU .BURNED. DOWN. THE. GYM** " cracked Lyserg " it tuck the administration six months to rebuild it " at that statement Mr Silva nodded his head in total support

" Oh that, I almost forgot " responded the older Asakura , grinning at the beautiful memory " but don't worry little green-headed elf I was planning to make it out doors this time " he added smirking at the view of a now extremely red Lyserg

" Ok , seriously man , why did you do this ? do you want us to comite suicide or something ? is doctor Faust paying you to supply him with new experiments' materials ? " interrogated the comedian wanna be

" Well Faust did offer me some cash to get him a …never mind that , I just thought it would be amusing " ( and yet a smirk )

" Amusing? " repeated Manta not quite getting it

"Yes, and since you voted for me to be your president , you should support my choices ,ne? " ( another smirk ...man ,i need to find other ways to describe it)

" That is not how it works , being in charge means you should care for the wellbeing of those who put their trust in you ,not throw them in the gutter for amusement " lectured Jeanne who from the rush of events forgot her ought to never speaks to her ex again

" AND WE DIDN'T VOTE FOR YOU, YOU KISAMA IF THE MAJORITY OF THE STUDENTS WEREN'T SO FEMALES YOU WOULDN'T BE PRESIDENT " précised Ren as his spike grew aiming for the clouds ( look who's talking ? he almost had as much "female" votes as him, such an ungrateful bastard / Horo: SEE TOLD 'YA / Ren : KISAMA /get the hell out or this fic is turning yaoi - evil smirk-/ ren&amp;horo: O.O – gulp-)

\- Back to business -

Hao merely shrugged , causing another wave of insults , complains , wining , and despair while the responsible adult in the room sneaked on his tiptoes toward the exit of what was starting to turn into world war three battle field

" do we actually have a choice? " asked Tamao aloud

'Damn , so close ' he turned slowly to confront his students' now hopeful gases

" No"

stillness , tic…toc …tic…toc , who will explode this time ? Ren , Lyserg , Manta , make your bets people , its coming I can feel it , the smell OF BLOOD here it goes …

nothing (O.O…WHAT?)

" Ok then we'll do it " cheerfully announced Yoh siding to his smiling brother

"Alright then , it's settled " closed Anna , menacing anyone who would dare speak after her with a frightening death glair promising the greatest torture

" Wonderful , now we can sort out the groups" announced the teacher opening his file holder , getting out a few papers and a pen then settling back in his office

" There will be groups ? " interrogated Manta instinctively backing away from Anna

"Of course "

" we'll go with Hao-sama " declared Machi proudly walking nearer to the Asakura , followed by an equally determinate yet less animated Mari

" Yoh and the midget , you're in my group ,understood? " coldly informed ( caught-ordered-caught)the ice queen

Yoh only nodded vigorously fearing another beating while twin waterfalls came falling down manta's creepily round eyes ( no offence to all manta's fans)

" Tamao-chan do you want to be in our group ? " offered Jeanne pointing to herself and lyserg

" sure, it'll be great " politely replied Tamao

"I don't work in groups"

" Come on Ren might be fun , how about joining the future king of laughter's crew "

And " BAM" chocolove was sent flying out of the door ,only to return rubbing his nose

" That was mean , I fell flat on my face "

" Humph "

" DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME YOU,you…YOU SHARK LOOK A LIKE "

" What did the clown say " hissed Ren developing a dark aura all around him

" STOP" yelled Silva trying to regain some significance in this class ( and they say they respect him really reassuring ) "who told you ,you get to choose your team ?"

" We don't? " poor Manta his eyes glowed with hope , but his overly cheerful intonation alerted his slave-driver …I mean Anna who only looked down at him , eyes promising misery ,gulp .

" No " replied the teacher not paying any attention on how the shorter student went as pale as a ghost " we'll pick the group leaders ,who will each choose the part of the party's organization they want to take care of and their fellow team members , there will be four groups one in charge of the location and decoration , a second of technical settings ,electricity ,illumination and such , a third of music and entertainment , and finally the fourth group will prepare the buffet , providing collations, beverages and setting the tables for the late diner "

" DINER " yes Horohoro had returned to consciousness ( after Pilika spent half an hour reanimating him with no result whatsoever )

His sister who was a moment earlier wailing the lost of her " wonderful , kindhearted gem of a big brother " near his "lifeless body" blinked as he stud up scanning the class room like a hunter searching for his next pray , for his first yet not only love …FOOD , then **punch**

" WHY DID YOU DO THAT ? " he screamed nose bleeding " you…you disfigured my handsome face " T.T

" My brother is a pig " T.T

" And how will the group leaders be chosen precisely? " interrogated Anna completely ignoring the blue-haired siblings

" Un tirage au sort ? " suggested Jeanne while clapping her hands together , regaining her mother language of sudden thrill ( you see little maiden-chan has a thing for games , can't say she had any fun back home so when she finds an opportunity to compensate …)

" Correct " replied the teacher

**NV: Here rests chapter two peace be upon its inky wordy soul ,hopefully things will start acting up in the next one ,see ya ;)**


	4. the groups

**NV : chapter 3 ,mother 's so proud OvO**

**O.O.O.O.O**

After another hour-quarter of screamed petitions , and other perfectly useless comments all calmed down , and agreed to prepare , each wroth down his/her name on separate pieces of paper folded them ,and handed them to the teacher who put them in an improvised electing bowl : his hands , shuck them hard then threw them on his desk's surface

All were paying the utmost attention to his every gesture as he closed his eyes internally praying who ever could hear him to have mercy on his soul , he tuck one , sighed he had made it through the first step , he opened his eyes , some were staring coldly at him (ahum…Anna) , some with great interest and showing enthusiastic agitation ( Horo, Pilika, Choco ,and Mach ) , some smirking with utter confidence ( Hao and Tao …got it? it rhymes… O.O oh god the shaman clown contaminated me !) , some didn't seem to care at all or rather didn't show any sign of it ( Mary , Tamao , Jeanne ) and other , his war-brothers at the time were as well as him beseeching whatever divine help there was to seek ( Manta ,Yoh , and Lyserg who had the mischance to imagine what could happen to him if he fell in Hao's group …hell )

Silva gulped ,unfolded the inked bit , looked at it ,his eyes widened then a relived sigh escaped his lips

" Our first group leader is …MANTA " he declared

The previously mentioned mini-human 's eyes went as wide as diner plats ( as if they weren't normally wide enough)

" THE MIDGET?!" Screamed the pumpkin-head girl expressing out loud most of the present individual surprise( bad Mach its mean to insult people 's biological form /Mach : I 'll kill this bitch!/ Hao: that's just how humans are they do something then pretend to lecture others about it …pitiful U.U/ I don't insult Manta … I just tease him , he doesn't mind ne Manta?/ Manta: …)

" Congrats Manta !" congratulated the still shocked boy's best friend grinning happily

" So , what do you want your group to do? " Interrogated the native-American while scribbling on one of the papers he previously primed

" Wha… " began the dictionary freak ( remember "just joking here" ok? )

" I mean do you want to handle the technical settings or perhaps …"

" TECHNICAL SETTINGS " he cut in shaking off his state of blank astonishment

" Alright on we go ,the next team leader is …- gulp -…Asakura Hao"

They all turned to the main and only cause for their current situation , who smiled satisfied

" I'll take music and entertainment "he stated anticipating Silva's question

"B-but I wanted to take that "wined Chocolove

" Too bad for you " came the scornful response

" Then how about you join me to your team , we could talk about the US , you lived there right ? " proposed the comedian cheerfully totally ignoring Hao's previous says and intonation " and believe me you'll never find a better performer so what do you say ? " he added holding his hand to shake in front of the other boy

" No"

Hao's calm dismissing tone ,and his lack of reaction practically shattered his hopes but Chocolove kept silent and went back to his seat away from his cruel longhaired class-mate , trying to protect what was left of his dignity

" Well that was … that ,now let's continue"

He unfolded yet another paper

" The third leader is …" Ren was already pumping his chest this had to be his , a Tao was always in leadership " …Horohoro"

At that his eyes went bugged as in X.X ( get the picture? ),while a stupid proud teethed grin appeared on the ainu's face nearly overwhelming it

Of course no one was surprised when he loudly declared , after striking a weird pose ( similar to the lady liberty's if you ask me ) ,that he will take care of the buffet

" And our last group leader …"

' now ,this has to be me ' thought Ren frowning in anticipation

" … DU FER JEANNE , I suppose you already know you'll be preparing the decoration " finished silva

Jeanne smiled sweetly , clapping her hands together as Ren collapsed unconscious on the ground

" Should we help him ? " asked Lyserg

"Nah …he'll be fine " reassured his always grinning friend

" Baka " coldly commented the ice queen looking down at the devastated Chinese student

"You sure tuck not getting the leadership well dear Anna " commented an amused Hao

" I don't need the title to be the leader isn't that right Manta ?" she declared glaring coldly at the unlucky midget who immediately saluted

" HAI MAME " which made Yoh and Lyserg sweat drop while Hao just laugh out loud at his brother's and his best friend's upcoming misery

Silva cleared his throat , demanding their attention back

" Now , for the group members , Manta?"

The said person gulped his neck's hair was still standing on guard , which meant the deadly stare of his friend's slave driver / fiancée was still on him

" Anna and yoh" he whispered with oh-so-great regret then realizing his words didn't reach the giants above him repeated with more vigor ( the kind used when a hero is facing a cruel eminent death ) "I want Anna and Yoh with me "

" That was surprising " sarcastically commented the teacher writhing down the names on his list " Hao?"

A pitiless smirk appeared on the older Asakura's face sending shivers down everyone's spines except for his cohabitants ( they were immune to it after having to put up with him most of their lives )

" Matilda , Tamao, and Lyserg-kun " he announced maliciously

Let's see the chosen ones reactions :

Mach was jumping up and down enthusiastically obviously pleased to be on Hao's group

Tamao was looking calm and unperturbed but was secretly anticipating what might come upon her and poor Lyserg around Yoh's womanizer of a brother

As for Lyserg let's just say he had magically produced a gun (it was his father's ,wonder how he got it? such a bad Lyserg,ne?) , initially to shoot himself then thinking better of it preferred to point it toward Hao and was currently fighting off his enemy's brother , Horohoro , and Chocolove each trying to prevent him from doing something Hao might make him regret ,because bizarrely none of them thought that a simple bullet could kill the demonic teenager

" Don't be so dramatic , Lyserg-kun " teased Hao not at all impressed by the firearm pointed to his head , why would he ?

"Calm down Lyserg-kun , it's not that bad " reassured Tamao not really believing her own words yet smiling encouragingly to the now calmer Englishman

" Don't worry Lyserg-kun , I promise I'll pray for you " added her best friend holding the boy's now gun free hands which only caused her to sweat drop it was like they were going to hell , well in a way they were

" Yeah ,Lyserg everything is going to turn out alright " ( do I need to precise who said this ?)

" Of course it will " smiled Hao pushing Lyserg further away in his grave of self-pity , when he suddenly felt someone shyly standing behind him

" Hao-sama what about Mari ? mari want to be in Hao-sama's team as well " wined the newly transferred Italian student , she was not yet fluent in Japanese as might reveal her constant use of the third singular form to indicate herself

" Mari you see music and entertainment aren't really your high points, ne? "

Mari was disappointed but didn't add anything, how could she after hao-same smiled at her like that ?, and beside mach suddenly realizing they were going to be separated stopped her happy dance and enveloped her in a encouraging friendly hug

" But wait a minute why does he get to have four people in his group ? " asked horo pointing to his longhaired classmate while staring at the teacher suspiciously

" Hao is the students 'body president which means he will have to supervise all of your work that is why he can have extra help" explained a very tiered Silva

" Oh ,I think I understand " responded the inue scratching the back of his neck

" Good , then can you tell me who you chose to work with ?"

The blue haired boy seemed in distress, he knew he had to choose his sister or suffer, but who else ? of course he would have chose Tamao for sure , she was a great cook but since that ass-hole hao bet him to the chase ,he was left with Mari who was terrible in the kitchen unless it was Italian cuisine but a whole buffet of pasta and pizza might be over pouching the Italian etiquette , Ren who was never ever going to get the privilege of working Under his commands ( yeah , let's say that and not that he would have killed every little bit of your authority , Boro-boro/horo:T.T I hate you ) and finally Chocolove the American did tell him he worked in a restaurant back in NY maybe he was better of a cook then a comedian

Deciding to take his chance ,he made his choice

" Pilika and Chocolove"

" Ok , as for the last group , you don't really have a choice , it will be Jeanne , Ren and Mari "

Mari 's face expressionless as always didn't reveal her screaming anger to be teamed with the chinese spike head ,moreover Under the headship of saint " follow the rules to make peace " , oh how she wished Hao-sama choose her rather than broccoli-head or Tamao

Yet for some reason , her two teammates were quiet , awkwardly quiet

The annoying bell rang yet again , drawing an inhumanly wide grin on Silva's features

" Finally …see you tomorrow students , please wait silently for your math teacher to come , the poor guy has been having nightmares since he first met you " pleaded Silva happy to get out pitying the next one to get in " by the way Lyserg stop bringing your father's gun with you ,principale Goldva had complains from other students' parents "

**NV: finally over with the groups' bullshit now I can start typing the real deal**


	5. crappy not so little chappy

**NV : crappy chappy here I come…**

**DISCLAIM: I don't own anything/one/where**

**O.O.O.O.O.O**

After a damned school-day …

" Don't worry Jeanne-chan , Hao-san's off to get his motor-bike to its mechanical check up , you won't meet him in the inn " said Tamao smiling reassuringly at her albino friend

They were both in Jeanne's exquisite white limo's backseats Under the supervision of her custodian Marco who was a mixture of adoptive big brother and father figure to her since they were both adopted In a great time interval by Lushist Russo a business man in the car-industry and a devoted follower of the catholic church , he and Marco had found her in an orphanage as they were on a business trip in Paris to promote their company X-cars in the French automobile market , going back to Italy they were three rather than two , Jeanne owed a great deal to both men ,they were the reason she was now in Japan ,and made friends such as Tamao ,they were the ones who provided her with a luxurious lifestyle ,treated her like a princess , she loved them so , they were her family

" If that brat even dares approach Jeanne again , I might not be able to hold my manners " firmly warned the blond while pushing his glasses up not taking his eyes off the road as he drove toward the Asakura residence

he really didn't like the longhaired teenager from the first time he saw him holding his protégée 's hand while she blushed of his inappropriate behavior , he hated him even more after lushist said he was :" a smart , brilliant and enlightened young man " but after he broke Jeanne's heart by dumping her ,he was seriously prepared to slaughter him take out his heart and bring it to her , so that they can both sacrifice it to god knowing they had rid the world of one of its Satanist , but he did none of the above for his brave Jeanne's sake

" please , be reassured Marco-san ,Hao no longer bothers me ,I've put my mind at rest from everything relevant to him and as Tamao-chan had said he will not be present , only Yoh-san,Anna-san and we shall isn't that right Tamao-chan ? " smiled Jeanne one of her i-am-an-angel smiles

" no, Yoh-san has invited some of our classmates as well " replied the magenta haired girl with the same calm smile

" really who ? "

" Manta-san, Pilika-chan ,Horohoro-san ,Chocolove-san ,Lyserg-san and Ren-san "

" Ren? Ren Tao? "

" Yeah, is there a problem ?"

" No no ,there's no problem at all " replied the saint-tereasa wanna-be suddenly finding interest in her hands

" Ren Tao? Isn't that the son of the family we reasently neighbored " interfered Marco

Jeanne nodded shyly causing Tamao to wonder what exactly was her friend's relationship with the Tao ? she never talked about it before ,could it be that she …? Tamao smiled she really hoped Jeanne could be happy if her suspensions were ever to be confirmed

When reaching their destination , Marco left ( after nagging the two of them with a mélange of nonsense warnings and bullshit ) and they went in

All were there , Horohoro ,Ren and Chocolove bickering for no reason as pirika tried to control her idiot of a brother , Yoh grinning while chatting with Manta ,Anna drinking tea watching TV with Lyserg beside her doing the same

The evening was fun they fought , laugh , cursed Hao for his damn suggestion that caused them to be involved in one of the most feared event of their school, charred a superb dinner prepared by Ryu who suddenly had the erg to visit ( no need to say he gloomed Lyserg and Tamao during all his spend )

Craziness ruled all their meetings , it was fun , heart-warming, they were all close friends despite their many differences , they were better than a family , they were one hell of demented gang

Then at night fall choosing to enjoy the benefits of having an actual onsen at their disposal ,the boys went for a dip as the girls stayed in for a chat ( one where Pilika was going to do pretty much all the talking)

** O.O.O.O.O **

The guys were relaxing in the hot water of the male part of the onsen , when a motor's roaring cought their attention making them look up into the street drawing a big grin on yoh's face and making all the others wish they left earlier when they had the chance

A second later they saw a red flash , zooming toward the house , in a speed so great that it seemed that it wasn't even touching the ground , a motor-bike , a shining fiery red ultra evolved motor-bike with futuristic killer design that would make anyone go wow 'til meeting the grave , side-tracking gloriously rising a dust-wave in front of the entrance gate the engine was parked perfectly , to let its driver take his flames-decorated helmet off , push his long dark reddish-brown hair over his shoulders smirk , wave a hand at the crowd staring at him from over the onsens' barriers, then whistle causing the engine to suddenly zoom toward the parking

" Yoh your twin might be a reward worthy kisama as says Ren but That thing is so cool man" exclaimed Chocolove nearly drawling over the peace of pure art he had just saw, for he himself was quite fond of speed

" That ass-hole must feel as if he could touch the sky on that thing "hissed Horohoro

" I wish he falls down from the sky and breaks every bone in his body over the solid ground "

" That's mean Lyserg ,beside aniki could never fall from SOF " informed Yoh a bit proud of his twin

" You give too much credit to your brother Yoh , in the end he is human and accident happen you know " said Ren with that i- don't-ever-get-impressed intonation

" Not when you designed , enhanced and constructed something yourself as I did SOF " came Hao's always amused voice as he walked in the onsen smiling half naked with only a towel around his waist and a bucket in his hand ( SOS fainting groupies here ;) ), " I personally added voice command , speed enhancers , impact absorbers, and danger predictors that allows it to maneuver around risks automatically , which makes it safe on every level "

" I can't stand this guy " said Lyserg sighing then sitting back in the warm water while the majority mumbled their agreement doing the same

" Too bad since we're going to be spending a lot of time together Lyserg-kun " smirked his group leader going In as well , his dear brother beside him

" No way I am not going to let you use this stupid party to torment me nor Tamao-san "

" Who told you I was planning to torment either of you ? " asked Hao innocently

" Why did you choose my two adored friends then? " Questioned Ryu in a menacing voice ( I wonder how his pompadour stays still despite the steam? ,that thing must be alien-made or something -_- )

" Well dear pedophile " he began calmly causing Ryu to crisp while involuntary amused grins appeared on all the others' faces except Lyserg ( too prude to admit he agrees with his nemesis U.U / ryu: LYSERG-KUN DOESN'T THINK OF ME AS A PEDOPHILE, ne lyserg-kun ?/ lyserg : I wouldn't use that term but …/ -smirk-/Ryu:T.T) " I choose green-head because he plays the piano as you must know being a stalker (Ryu: X.X) and pink-head since I have planes for her to…"

He was cut short by Horohoro jumping up revealing his family's jewels to their eyes

" I TOLD YOU THIS ASSWHOLE WAS PLANNING SOMETHING OUT OF IT " he declared to the assembly then pointing an accusing finger at Hao " AS IF SHE OR ANY OTHER COULD EVER FALL FOR YOU AHO ! "

Hao looked calmly in the blue eyes of the highly stupid inue , while the others looked blankly at their blue-haired friend

" -_- he never learns " mumbled Manta

" How is damko doing by the way boroboro ? " asked Hao with a tone that only said too much "one of my sources told me you broke up yet again "

Horohoro sank until his mouth could no longer be distinguished underneath the water surface , in time like this he wished he could kill Hao then one by one take care of his "sources"

"Baka" coldly commented Ren

" What did you mean by having planes for Tamao aniki ? " questioned Yoh

" I want her to …"

" ONIISAN COME OVER HERE " yelled Pilika from inside the house

The inue siblings we're really determined to annoy him thought Hao

"WHAT DO YOU WANT PILIKA ? I AM BUSY "

" BUSY , oh alright then I'll tell damko to call later "

" O.O DAMKO?! "

And with that Horohoro flashed away , entering the house, a few seconds later shrieks of pain could be heard coming out of it , the empty-head had forgot to cover himself before going in

Ren face-palmed himself ,Hao smirked ,while everyone else sweat dropped nervously

" So… " started Yoh excite to know his twin's planes

" I want her to sing " explained his brother as if it was the most obvious thing in the world

"Tamao-san sings ? " asked Lyserg staggered

" Yeah , she does " answered Manta somewhat over joyfully

" And is she any good ? " added Chocolove frowning a bit ,so that was why Hao refused to join him in he had found a replacement

"are you kidding again ? HER VOICE IS DEVINE " exclaimed Ryu

" really, since when? and how come I never knew ? "

" well Yoh-kun … "began Manta " since practically forever and there are lots that you don't know "

Ryu nodded

" beside miss Tamao only lets Manta ,me and miss Jeanne hear her " added he " so what I want to know is HOW DID YOU FIGURE IT OUT? "

Hao only shrugged

" I heard her by chance once "

" But what if she doesn't want to ? " wondered Lyserg raising an eye brow at him

" We'll see about that ,tomorrow after school in our first group meeting Lyserg-kun " responded the Asakura smiling in a way that only made the brith more anxious

Suddenly a "thing" crept toward them , the "thing" was awfully bruised , it face was totally disfigured but its blue head revealed its identity

" Ho-horohoro ? " whispered Manta frightened wanting confirmation

A sound escaped "its" lips resembling a whimper

" They went for me… all of them…i-I didn't think I was going to get out alive " whined what was left of Horohoro

" Baka " stated Ren ( his vocabulary isn't quite diverse, ne? )

" At least you were able to speak to Damko " tried to cheer Yoh

" I couldn't ,she never called , Pilika thought I was talking about her when yelling at Hao so she tricked me and since I was so excited and went in naked they…they… "

Poor Horo burst in tears , while all tried to suppress their laughing ,all but Hao , Ren and surprisingly enough or maybe not Ryu

**NV: voila ! finished chapter four, see 'ya ;)**


	6. where are they

**NV: hello there , I actually got a review / EVERYONE/ANYONE :O.O / I know can't believe it either and it was actually productive and very usefull , for you might or not observe that I made some changes , hope you like it ,cause I did**

It was a perfectly class-free Saturday morning …

Mach was staring at the green-haired boy as both set in the school's theater/music room where Hao asked her to go for their first group meeting, he was playing a quite melody on his favorite instrument . she pouted , why the hell was he playing such a sad boring music ? was he planning to put everyone in the damn party to sleep ? she couldn't explain it but that guy specifically angered her , with his polite behavior , gentle smile , the way his eyes became heartbreaking whenever he looked blankly into the horizon while his fingers danced on the classic piano , the way he stuck beside the French girl and that irritating blush that sometimes appeared on his face in front of Tamao , such a pain in the ass , plus the fact that he hated Hao , definitely a pain in the ass. She should've waited in hers and Mari's room in the girls dorms ( DISCLAIM: for female foreigner student without privet living-accommodations only , headed by the somewhat forgotten kanna ) instead of coming in time for the first time in her entire damn life.

" Can't you play something a bit more lively ? " she asked irritated hands on her hips

He glanced up at her but didn't stop playing

"I like this one"

"I don't it's boring , I want to do something waiting here is killing me "

"Just be patient Tamao-san and Hao will be coming soon "

"How the hell do you know ? they are already half an hour late "

"Yoh said they always get chased around for approximately forty minutes because of Hao , they must be close by now " he said returning his attention back on his hands traveling along the piano's keys

She pouted again but said nothing back

After another quarter past out she literally snapped , grabbed his wrist and despite his opposition forced him to stand up and storm out of the theater

"Where the heck are you going ? ", he asked frowning as she dragged him along , she had a surprisingly firm grip and overwhelming energy if he might add

"I am sick of waiting , we'll go and find them ourselves "

"But they might be anywhere in town , Yoh said they practically run all around funbari each time this happens "

"Then we'll just search all funbari , can't be so hard ", she said grinning energetically

Lyserg sighed , she must never had really explored this place before , this was going to be a long day , poor him

Meanwhile, in another part of the city , a couple of blocks away from the Asakura residence …

" Now ladies calm down , we're only working on something for school , beside you saw her before she's practically my sister don't be sinister" ( no this is not choco , in case you had doubts )

"No Hao-sama , she stole you , you never went out with her without your look-alike before "

"Ladies , as I said we are working on something for school that's all " ,repeated he bore stiff

"Look he's trying to lie to us "

"He wants to protect her"

**"LETS KILL THE PINK HAIRED BITCH "** , shrieked the army of demented fan girls in unison

Tamao's eyes widened. they stepped forward ,suddenly Hao grabbed her wrist and ran in lightning's speed . the earth shook behind them , crazy screams and death treats echoing their steps , they had been calmly walking toward the school for their first rehearsal , Hao had suggested taking another route longer but where danger was probably not lurking waiting for them to show up , how wrong was he.

"Where the heck is spirit of fire?!" snapped her flee companion , he kept whistling for his motor Bick but it was nowhere to be seen. Damn it! was probably too far away to activate , he should've agreed with her when she attempted to reason with him saying it would be better to take it rather than smirking and accusing her of wanting to stick to his back if they did which was absolutely not the case even if she had to admit that she wanted to test the feeling of speed and freedom the engine seemed to promise

Man, she couldn't breath ' can't he stop his little melody and do something instead ?' she thought starting to get fed up with running around funbari with a bunch of crazy chicks hot on her heals , screaming things like: GIVE US BACK HAO-SAMA /YOU DON'T DESERVE HIM YOU BITCH I DO / NO I DO YOU FREAK / WHEN I' LL CATCH YOU I'LL BURN YOUR HAIR ON YOUR FREAKING HEAD. the last one might have been either destined to her or Hao - shrug - she'll ask later , for now escaping with her life seemed more of a priority.

"Can't you .do. Something? " she asked between breaths.

"What do you want me to do ? I can't beat up women " he declared in a bit of an irritated tone mostly because of his beloved vehicle's absence of respond to his summoning.

Tamao frowned , why the hell was he addressing her in that tone when he was the cause of the damn situation? now she was angry ,real angry. She stopped in her tracks , braking him along.

He turned face slightly expressing a hint of anger he tried to suppress.

"Do you have a death wish ? " he asked letting go of his hold on her

She ignored him , calmly tuck out her katana , while behind her back the killer herd was coming closer and closer. Hao seemed to perceive the extremely dark murderous aura rising around her since he finally shut up , good. She didn't wish to turn against a member of the family which raised her up , not in this state. For now, she was going for blood .

The herd of rabid fangirls stopped instantly seeing their pray standing still waiting them , giving her back to them as she faced their "love god".

" The little girl gave up! "

" Only another prove that she doesn't deserve you, Hao-sama !"

" lets teach her a lesson!"

Hao really pitied his poor insane groupies. Pink-head had seemingly gained a certain interest in swordsmanship while he was in the states and since his return he had the chance to see her in action , with that thing in hand she was almost more intimidating then Anna , may they rest in peace in a heaven where each of them could have her own Hao-sama clone.

Tamao turned slowly , eyes narrowed dangerously , glared at the Hao-obsessed women a glare so low and blood chilling that it probably could surpass Anna's , making them freeze in the middle of aiming vindictive shots at her. She titled her head to the right features blank, swiftly raised her weapon which's blade shone Under the sun rays , positioning it in front of her in a way it separated two almost parallel sides of her face.

That was it Tamao Tamamura had switched to her " Tokyo's gangs worst nightmare " expert killer mode.

The previously blindly cocky crowed stepped away simultaneously as she pushed away one of the stray bangs falling on her eyes , then went running like the wind when she calmly marched forward.

Silence.

"Good " she whispered to herself.

Turning back she met the blank look Hao was given her , she held his stare when his lips suddenly curved into a devilish smirk.

"That was hot , maybe you should try it on my dear otoutou"

Her bangs shadowed her eyes as she lowered her head trying to avoid that smug smirk which would most undoubtedly put even more murderous thoughts toward the Asakura in her mind so instead of slicing him in half she got it all out on a random trashcan in the street near them, then marched forward , him following leisurely , hands in his pockets ,humming an irritating summer melody.

Working Under this guy was not ,NOT going to be an easy task.

After a while , they reached the very empty music room.

"Where are they ?" asked Tamao dumbfounded all this running around for nothing?!

Hao barely shrugged and walked in leaving her still on the door step.

Awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay , probably in the opposite side of Tokyo …

"where are they?!" Screamed an orange-headed girl in desperation in the middle of the capital's busy streets attracting several individuals' attention.

The boy panting at her feet had his face as green as his hair and eyes , hand covering his mouth.

"I think I'm gonna to throw up "

"Ohhh, man up and stop being such a sissy "she frowned kicking him slightly in the abdomen.

That was a truly bad move …

**NV: =.= poor lyserg … see ya ;)**


	7. the running midget and the defeated Bs

**NV: I don't have anything to say .**

**NO , wait a sec I do " DISCLAIM: I DON'T OWN SHAMAN KING nor Mc donald " I think I forgot to mention that , last chapter…no bigy , it's not like you had any doubts, ne ?**

Yoh laid down on the grass of the onsen's front yard , his orange headphones on , playing the newest single of his favorite reggae singer "Bob love" , it was 10 am , he had finished his multiple tasks, his twin and Tamao had went an hour ago to school for their first group meeting saying it was more convenient for Lyserg and Mach who both lived in the dorms and easier to practice the live show his brother had planned in the theater were they had full access to the school's musical instruments , talking about the show he still couldn't believe Tamao had agreed to sing in it , Hao just asked her before they went to sleep , at first she looked a bit surprised probably since she never told him about her singing talent but then and after Anna declared it was actually a good idea ( which shocked him ,his fiancée never agreed with his twin , **never** ), she seemed to consider it briefly before answering "yes" drawing a big stupid grin on his face and a satisfied smirk on its parallel

"isn't The midget here yet ? "asked Anna behind him , she was a bit over irritated ,her mornings were going quite…ruff since a while and the fact that her baka- fiancé kept listening to his damn music ignoring her presence only made it worst

She snatched his headphones so brutally that Yoh tough his ears had been ripped of his skull with them

"O.O A-Anna! W-what's wrong?" he asked a bit worried she looked pale and very angered

" YOU'RE WHAT'S WRONG BAKA !" she yelled holding them up out of his reach -sigh - regaining her cool she looked down at him " when is the midget planning to come ? "

Yoh blinked , he almost forgot his best friend was supposed to join them for their own group preparation

" i…I don't know he said he'd come pretty early in the morning but didn't give me a specific time " he answered scratching the back of his head

Anna massaged her temples she was getting more annoyed by the minute , she needed something to make her feel better … she looked down at him her eyes shone in a malefic energy , of course the solution was right at her feet

Meeting her gaze ,he gulped

Then right when she was about to order him into more torture …ups , scratch that , into more physical training (specifically prepared by her to ensure him a healthy life and decrease her chances of one day turning into a widow because of his incapacity to fight off some lethal disease… she preferred killing him with her own nagging capacities instead ) they both heard a loud ear-piercing shirk of fear , and the sound of a crowed running simultaneously down the street

walking toward the gate , they stared in the screaming's direction , there was nothing at first but seconds later a small figure appeared in the horizon , they tried to distinguish its identity , it was coming closer and closer , it …it was manta , the blond short fellow was running toward them like mad , a look of utter panic and fear painted on his face , hands clutching to his small backpack , he kept falling down then hastily getting up returning to his run against who knows what

" what is he doing ?" asked Anna coking an eye-brow at the sight while her fiancé grinned as usually thinking noting of it ,Manta must only be exited to start working with him

"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE " screamed their supposed team leader falling to his face , rolling then regaining balance on his miniature legs

Yoh tilted his head to the right " what is he talking about Anna?"

She shrugged not taking her eyes off Manta

Suddenly dust rose in the horizon behind him and a herd of rabid girls running down in a pace far superior to his appeared causing the earth to shake Under their steps

Yoh and Anna went O.O , as their friend's eyes started to tear up , he could feel it coming from behind his back… death, the end , he was going to die and be buried in a 80 centimeters length coffin

Yoh shuke off his astonishment and jumped over the gate like a professional gymnast, he started running toward his BF in a great speed he owed to Anna's daily training , his brown bangs pushed back by the air , arriving near Manta he tuck him off the solid ground then ran in the opposite direction to the herd which was only a few feet away from them , Manta Under his left arm still looking as dreaded as a man witnessing his son's birth from the action's angle

Anna opened the gate hurriedly to her very out of breath husband-to-be and his terrorized friend , the herd was reaching up only a feet left separated them

Yoh had a freaky watch-out expression on , Manta had motion sickness so his face was now completely greenish-yellow but luckily they had made it near the onsen , Yoh tightened his hold on his human packet aka Manta

"ALL TAKE SHELTER " he yelled ducking to the left then rolling into their front yard avoiding the passage of the rabid girls by an inch

The shorter haired Asakura panted laying on his back trying to catch his breath and stabilize his body after the sudden adrenaline rush , a figure shadowed the sun's rays over him

" that was exaggerated " commented the blonde coldly standing in front of him

He smiled sheepishly and was about to say something totally useless as usual when he felt something struggling Under his weight

' MANTA' rang the alarm in his head as he jumped up to his feet

The poor midget was squashed his body scratched from the fall , but he was still able to stand up with the help of the couple

" are you alright Manta ?" asked Yoh concerned

" yeah , just have to realize I am not yet dead " he answered a perturbed tiered look on "but everything will be fine thanks for your helpYoh-kun , you saved my life "

" no problem " grinned his savior " but what was that all about ?"

" I bet Hao has something to do with it " said the ice queen arms folded on her chest

" why would nii-san be the one to blame this time ?"

" I saw Hao and Tamao running away from them when I first came out of home , then a while later I looked back and they were there running in the opposite direction like bloodthirsty beasts toward me " explained the very undead midget twin waterfalls coming out of his circular eyes

Anna had an I -told-you-so expression on while Yoh sweat dropped

" you two get to work now you wasted enough time " she ordered going in the house leaving the two boys decapitated

O.O.O.O.O

As for the two groups left …

Jeanne went with Ren in his privet limo ,you know charring transportations is very eco-friendly it makes the planet go "weee " and the ozone hole turn T.T and they both were very preoccupied with the ecosystem's preservation that is why Ren being a gentleman proposed to give her a ride and that's also why Jeanne spent three hours convincing Marco to agree

They picked Mari up, and the trio went in search for materials to build the sophisticated decoration they aimed for

Whilst in the usui secondary apartment, Horohoro was fighting with Choco after the later informed him that he only knew how to prepare burgers

" BUT YOU SAID YOU WORKED IN A REPUTATED RESTEURENT BACK IN THE US " yelled the blue-haired boy running after his team member trying to choke him

" YES A MC DONALD " yelled the comedian- wanna- be , thank god he was so much faster than the ainu or else things would have turned really ugly for him

Horohoro was going to explode all this mess was because of that damn aho and now the clown was adding to it , suddenly someone pinched his ear grabbing him , stopping his run and a pained whimper escaped his lips

" onii-san stop you are destroying our living room , there is still three weeks before the party we have plenty of time to prepare the food "explained an annoyed Pilika

He nodded and did as he was told afraid his sister might get upset and blow up at him while Chocolove pulled out his tongue at his figure, happily standing beside Pilica

He wanted to beat the shit out of so many bastards right now first Hao then Choco then perhaps Ren… a matter of habit you know

**NV: finished with chapter 06 ,review? yes? No? maybe?... anyway see 'ya ;)**


	8. nameless crap

**NV: I 'd like to thank Crissylover one and only reviewer for this story ,Crissy you rock , all those left : -_- you people are lame , but me no care this story is going to be written with utter loyalty until the last chapter whether you review or not :)**

**That being said and after reminding who ever has Alzheimer that " I DO NOT OWN SK "**

**Let the story continue**

" HAO-SAMA ?IS THIS REALLY YOU CALLING ? WHERE ARE YOU ?" screamed Mach holding her cell-phone to her ear , she was still pretty much lost in the middle of Tokyo dragging along none other than Lyserg , who by now looked as good as a living-dead ( not the hot vamps or werewolves we see on TV rather the rotting zombies in V-games )

She heard a bored sigh on the other line

" at school , why aren't you two here yet ?" asked her dear interlocutor

" WHAT? Bu-but Hao-sama I was just there and…and greenhead too bu-but you weren't so WE went looking for YOU "

" fine, when can you come back ? " he asked dully

" come back …but …we're lost " she whispered shamefully while Lyserg choked in the background

" lost ? aren't you with Lyserg-san ?" asked a second feminine voice

" Tamao?"

" yes ,Mach your on speaker " answered the pink head's voice seeming nearly as bored as Hao " isn't he with you ?"

" the sissy ? he is ,can't say he was any help due " said she glaring daggers at the very green green-head who was looking at her with a strange blank expression

" then you can't be lost "

" what do you mean ? of course we're lost I would know wouldn't I ? " responded she annoyed ,did Tamao think she was stupid or what?

" - sigh- Mach ,Lyserg-san knows every parcel of Tokyo ,there for you can't be lost around him " explained Tamao very slowly so as not to brusque the dynamite personality of her classmate

Silence , a man's voice stopping a taxi behind her back , fists clenching then

" WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT ? " she screamed causing anonymous individuals to turn surprised gazes at her ,Tamao to sigh, Hao to smirk amused and Lyserg to face palm himself

" I think we'll just reschedule " came Hao's voice , she tried to open her mouth but the call had already been ended

Turning very slowly , she faced the sissy with a raged expression similar to that of a rabid wild animal ready to dismember his victim ,yet he met it with an incredulously lame one

" I tried to tell you " declared he , voice refusing any part of responsibility in the situation

Her eyebrows twitched

And during a full hour in a one kilometer radar people could hear two English foreigners screaming the worst insults at each other in their mother language , the girl really had some vocal power and a very diverse vocabulary ( not like that spike head and his repeated "BAKA "here "KISAMA" there / Ren : KISAMA! Stop mocking me / see told you :) )

Back on the school grounds …

the long haired Asakura nonchalantly tuck the opposite rout to that his magenta haired team-member engaged , he was going to Amano's and Reihist's place , the couple were their neighbors , they had adopted a little girl via an international adoption company since they couldn't have kids on their own

little Opacho was a very pure hearted kid that never met him without a big happy grin on her childish face ,Hao cared about her , his heart instantly warmed up to her , beside he was quite comfortable with kids so when the couple asked him to babysit Opacho from time to time , he smiled at the excitement of the toddler and agreed to their proposal even going as far as helping her learn Japanese which was not an easy task ,she was already struggling with a shaky English

as for Tamao she wasn't really in the mood to go back home sometimes when only she was there with Yoh and Anna she felt as if intruding their privacy , so she decided to wonder aimlessly for a while perhaps buy a new sketch book her last one was already filled or maybe buy a new CD and fetch one for Anna in the process

" you should start picking the titles you want to practice " came Hao's voice as both kept drifting away from each other

Yeah , that could keep her mind busy , it's not like if she had anything better to do

She spent the day walking the streets of funbari , at lunch she entered a small sushi restaurant and was surprised to meet Mach and Lyserg who after exhausting themselves screaming their heads off decided to take a break to fill their empty stomachs of course it was the unlucky boy's treat

She charred their meal , told them that their dear group-leader wanted to start looking for the songs they were going to perform and that they should both start practicing since Hao also decided that Lyserg was going to be the pianist and Mach the guitarist

After leaving them she continues her promenade, bought what she had in mind , then when the sun started to set ,returned to the onsen , Ryu was busy taking care of the working part of it , they always had a lot of clients in the weekends ,while in their private division Anna was watching her soap operas whilst Yoh and Manta were chatting with Horo, Choco and Ren who each came after getting things done with their groups , supposedly in order to discus homework (as if ) but as usual an epic fight was cooking

" Nii-san isn't with you Tamao?" asked Yoh

" no " she answered unable to prolong since she didn't ask the missing individual's destination when they separated several hours ago

Horohoro sighed in relief , meeting the aho was not his dearest wish at the moment

" it's alright " grinned the brunette " I am sure he'll come soon " added he reassuring himself , he really didn't like it when his brother didn't call to inform him of his whereabouts , Hao sometimes flipped from his nonchalant cool attitude to an angered one and whenever Hao was angered he would get himself in deep shit , so Yoh feared he would suddenly get a call from the police station saying that he beat a bunch of guys down for saying his hair was girly , like what happened last time

Tamao nodded silently then went near Anna , after dinner Chocolove left fearing that Kalim one of the school's guards would shut the male-dorm 's doors in his face if he waited any longer as for Manta, Horo and Ren they decided to stay for the night ( after Yoh begged Anna to agree evidently )

Going out to inhale some fresh air , Tamao sat on the bench near the hot springs , she could still hear Horo Horo and Ren insult each other from the privet division of the estate

She looked up at the full moon , the sky was full of twinkling dots , the night was soundless which was rare in a city as busy as Tokyo even in the its near surroundings

She remembered Mikihisa-sama the man who saved her from utter abandonment as a child , he had found her in the mountains during one of his climbing-escapade , deciding to take her home ,when seeing she was alone left to herself , she was very grateful to him if he didn't come , if he didn't cross her path who knows what would have become of her? , she certainly would never had met all those she now cared about , she would have never met Anna and learned to respect her strength , Anna's case was similar to hers she was also an orphan her parents where friends of the asakuras and when they died they naturally tuck her in

She would have never meet the twins , developed a silly infatuation with yoh and a degree of curiosity about his smirking brother

Indeed ,she was very grateful for his impact on her life , but somewhere deep in , she couldn't help but feel trapped , the mountains were a promise of strength , of a wild cruelty yet a calm kindness , they were the earth's hope to reach the sky , that was her real home , where alone as a three years old toddler she was free

Did she miss her biological parents back then ? did she wish for them to return near her ?, did she wondered whether they were alive or dead ? ,did she doubt ? asking herself if they were living happily away glad of her absence ?, did she wish they were dead back on her mighty still companion ?

Tamao Tamamura , that's what the locals of the area named her saying it was an appropriate name for a child of the mountains with such a unique hair color ( Tamamura = berries …I think )

Now she was far away , of it all , the only memories left ,the only signs of her past freedom , of her belonging , were her rootless name and her voice still screaming the heavy feelings she used to try and keep down behind a pathological shyness that was no longer hers

She wanted to sing , maybe the moon will tell , report her longing message to her forgotten home

She opened her mouth , sang dedicated melodies , she felt good singing as if the invisible cage she created around her heart slowly began to shatter each time her vocal cords livened up , shaking off the dull persistence of her surrounding

She sighed , when her chant stops the silence once again builds up

Suddenly someone jumped off the roof above her , startling her ,before she recognized the boy's figure

Hao fell on his feet , as a freaking feline , smirked at her face

" I know which song you'll be performing miss Tamamura " he declared

**NV: I know … I got a bit off tracks ,since I started playing shrink I kinda dismissed humor out of this one , but this is only a onetime thing the story will keep going as it was …hopefully and since I like saying " see ya!" let me tell ya , SEE 'YA ;)**


	9. demon

**NV: MNOSK ( ME NO OWN SHAMAN KING ) by the way "_blah blah blah" = memories _**

She looked at him blankly as he stud before her confident as ever , it was not enough that he interrupted her moment of peace but he also had to do it for something as the stupid show's song choice

"and it would be ? " , even such a simple question was tricky to pronounce when addressing the longhaired Asakura twin , they were not ones to interact and last time they considerably did it was to fight about how he treated Jeanne , even during their growth they barely spoke ten words to each other but back then it was easier since the Asakura estate was huge and even due they lived together they almost never met , but times changed now the house was much smaller, they were classmates and to add to it she had to work Under him in that damned party which meant further communication was to be anticipated

" none !" he declared smiling satisfied

Now , would have been a good time to fall anime-style

" so …I won't be performing in the show ? " she inquired not really getting it

He smirked

" I meant none that is already existent , you , miss Tamamura shall sing an original homemade song " he explained in his utmost teasing intonation

She calmly stood up , Hao might have been a genius or anything of that sort but he certainly was not in his right mind if he thought she was going to listen to him talking nonsense

She turned her back to him , but didn't have time to take two steps that he was in front of her again , smirking as usual , the boy wasn't only cat-like when it came to agility he also adored playing cat and mouse with anyone and practically everyone , hell he even managed to pull it out with Anna

But she wasn't impressed for so little , maybe that would have intimidate her back in the days ,but now hell no

" my ,my didn't you appreciate my brilliant idea? " he asked tilting his head to the right

She kept a straight face on

" why do you have a composing talent as well? " she asked trying to imitate his tone why would he be the only one in right to act sarcastic , he didn't have copyrights over teasing for god's sake …after second thoughts he probably did -_-;

" no" he replied untouched by her attempt " but you yes , that's why you'll write your own song " he added with a childish yet somewhat malicious smile

She was startled but managed to get over it

" I don't…" she began but he cut her short

" don't try to lie to me " he warned rotating his back at her , sliding the door open , letting a flush of warmness escape the house , then half-turning his face just enough for her to perceive his legendary smirk he added : "after all little Jeanne-chan told me a lot about you "

Her features went serious, his damn uncaring intonation irritated her , he knew quite well that the only thing that really bugged her about him was what he did to her best friend since it was probably the only one of his mischief which personally touched her , but thankfully Jeanne had held from the broken heart injury he caused her only a few months ago

" and I also heard you sing about Yoh " he sing-sang disappearing inside the inn

Her cheeks turned pink , she wanted to curse , Horohoro was right what a damn aho , he was the last person still able to make her blush all because the smug perverted yoh-lookalike was absent during her …how to put it?... extreme profile make-over.

Sighing she went in

**O.O.O.O.O**

Hao laid over his futon , today turned out very annoying and he was still pretty mush pissed when he came back and found another chummy reunion going on that's why he sat on the roof watching the stars , that always calmed him down , but what really eased him was the charming song he heard Under his feet , pink-head really had a wonderful voice, not that he would ever genuinely "innocently" compliment her about it that would be so unlike him, he wasn't the kind friendly type , to put it simply he was not Yoh

As for why he was pissed in the first place , it was because when he reached Amano's and Raihist house this morning, he found Opacho sobbing , a bunch of racist loafers had bullied her as her adoptive father revealed the man had taken care of them but that didn't suffice Hao who preferred personally teaching them a hard lesson , they were pathetically weak , a perfect match with their futile world they all seemed so silly ,so unimportant ,so…small ,

Hao hated peoples but successfully covered it up even earning their devotion and admiration , for to him all Humans were hypocrite fools they were born into a covered up nothingness, then they would live along with it pretending their mere breaths had any importance , some trying to find a greater purpose to their existence , trying to change a perishable world , craving luxury , aiming to stash amounts of money as if money could buy them some kind of salvation , and then there was those who ran after what did his brother call it " the wave of love " as if … to be honest he didn't remember how it felt to be loved , some would say that he was one of the most adored individuals on the damn planet due to the enormous number of fan girls ( + some guys) on his back , but he knew that was not love , love was not superficial ,at least not true love , love was knowing and accepting someone the way they were never try to change them and be ready to sacrifice all that mattered for those we loved , that was the way his mother used to love him and Yoh…his mother…after her death everything changed his family were distant individuals none of them had a mother's warmth and love turned into a beautiful lie , now the only one who he knew truly loved him was his brother ,he knew him , not entirely but better than anyone else did , his brother was lucky so many people cared about him , his friends , Anna , Tamao , even him ( not that he would ever put it in audible words)

As for him he was alone hidden deep inside his soul , for those who watched from the outside he was the cool detached womanizer rarely seen without his smug i-know-it-all smirk

That was just …so amusing

He smirked , as if to make a point , got up , he suddenly felt hungry remembering he didn't dine yet

In his way toward the kitchen he passed by Anna watching one of her soap operas ,looking out of an open window he saw Yoh going throught an additional five hundred sets of pushups ( the price to pay to let his three friends crash in the ice queen's home/business-plan ) while Horohoro and Manta cheered for him deeply moved by his misery , and Ren kept yelling " BAKAS you're going to wake up the whole neighborhood " as if his dazzling screaming had no chance of doing the trick

' poor otoutou '

he smirked at the young woman who only glanced coldly at him briefly leaving the TV screen before returning to it

"You sure are determined to give my brother the same musculature as me , dear Anna"

She didn't respond to his teasing , biting hard into her rice cake , which reminded him of his hunger

He entered the kitchen , seeing the long magenta locks in front the sink didn't turn around to recognize his presence, he guessed Tamao was probably listening to her music player while washing the dishes

He walked toward the fridge examined its content , then choosing to go for an orange juice, tuck out the bottle and looked for a clean glass , finding none , he turned to the girl near him

"I need a glass " he said his intonation sometimes changed into a more strict one when addressing her , at least ever since their confrontation about Jeanne , hao remembered it perfectly , it was one of those days when he didn't wish to pretend anymore , he somehow said " stupid girl " to Jeanne who in that specific day a week after their separation decided to accompany her best friend home , causing the girl to tear up and enter hastily in her limo , Hao was not surprise to see Marco ( who dragged along) snap at him ,but what he didn't suspect was that the cheery eyed teenager would glare coldly at him , then counter with a firm " heartless fool" , after that things went a bit… bad

_he looked sternly at her while the adult seemed a bit startled by her words he apparently never saw her act like anything but her polite kindhearted self_

"_I see , the quiet shy one really disappeared " he noted with unhidden superiority in his voice , he had been back for almost a year and realized from his first day that she had changed but since they never really interacted he didn't suppose that her attitude development during his three years of absence would be so striking that she would actually lose all intimidation of him _

"_Jeanne is my guest ", she retorted in a calm unperturbed intonation standing tall , seemingly determined _

"_Is that right ? " , he looked down at her he wouldn't have started this thing if it was not for his current mood but maybe breaking her down would make him feel better _

_She didn't flinch , held his stare while asking Marco to convince Jeanne to abandon her hideout which he hesitantly did _

_The way she kept looking into his eyes irritated him , his features went blank , same as hers as they faced each other _

_Jeanne finely came out composed and proud, escorted by Marco she neared to her friend who feeling her , stopped her glaring contest with him to see the albinos eyes now redder then usual_

' _she cried 'deduced she feeling bad she was the one who invited the girl ,after she revealed to her that she was no longer going to avoid Hao ,she didn't expect him to act this way , but how could she have known ? ,she knew so little about Yoh's brother even due they grew up together_

_She turned back to him he was smirking , a smirk that only widened as he perceived the anger in her gaze focusing back on him _

_He walked leisurely past the three figures at the inn's door step , looked down at Tamao as he did ,meeting his eyes she clenched her fists and hissed a hearable " demon " a word she knew he hated ever since the kids in izmu started calling him so , it was probably the first time she aimed to actually hurt someone's feeling , but hao had hurt Jeanne her friend , he had it coming _

_he stopped in his track half- turned putting burning eyes on her then leaving into a random direction _

_Things had been pretty silent between them ever since ( as in more than usually silent ) , he returned to his usually relaxed nonchalant attitude not knowing that she had remembered the reason for his irritation back then ,it was the week of his mother's death anniversary , Tamao felt somewhat guilty the one she had encountered was a hurt child and not his modern version , but she never had the chance to say it , the case had been closed _

Shaking off the memory he approached her , realizing she was not wearing her ear-phones , he smirked her lost expression reminded him of when they were younger when she often looked through her surrounding , submerged in her own imagination

' a chance for a laugh ' he thought amused and satisfied

He moved behind her , inhaling then

" got'ya " he playfully declared in a falsely menacing tone putting both hands over her shoulders

And as he predicted the brusque trip back to reality did startle the girl but what he didn't expect was that in her alarm she would turn and purposely spill the dish-washing water over his head

She blinked once , twice, then realizing who was the now soaked figure glaring blankly at her , she couldn't help but laugh out loud attracting Anna's and the rest of the boys attention to the kitchen

Hao clenched his fists , it wasn't enough that his beautiful silky perfectly perfect hair smelled like suers , they all had to make fun of the damn situation

" I… LOVE… YOU… TAMAO "declared Horohoro between hysterical laughs bursting in while Yoh and Manta tried unsuccessfully to hold their snickers , and the two cold ones ( Ren and Anna duhh ) had the most perturbing grins on

" just don't tell Damko I said so , she's a bit overly jealous you know "awkwardly added the ainu

' who the fuck cares about that , my hair was abused ' thought hao as his teethes greatened

" you look good aniki " joked his dear twin a hand over his mouth trying to hush himself

" I'm going to get the camera this is too good to miss on " announced the blonde heading to do just so

He looked at the one who caused this shit upon him , she had a smirk almost as happily devilish as his

Maybe they didn't interact in the past , but oh things were going to get much different WAR was ON

No one repeat NO ONE touches Hao Asakura's hair and get away with it

**NV: -_-; I suck , maybe i should change this , I can't stick only to humor , I'm too gloomy for humor so please bear with my shit ,thank you and …see 'ya ;)**


	10. when the idiot wants to kill herself

**NV: MNOSK ( ME NO OWN SHAMAN KING )**

Tamao sighed laying her head over her study table , the teacher was right above her but didn't say anything to her, partially because she usually was a model student and he guessed she must have a problem causing her to lose her studious attention , but he mainly was just too occupied trying to shut Horohoro up

" I still think I am correct " said the ainu persisting " Japan didn't invade south-Korea we invaded Atelanthis ( did i writh it right ?) to do nuclear experiment on it which caused it the sink it's a scientific fact, see its written right here " he added waiving a sci-fic comic book in the air for all to see

his classmates sweat dropped and he was pretty sure he heard Ren mumbling something underneath his breath, as the teacher started fancying a rope to put around his neck leaving his stupid stiff-headed student's stupidity behind him flying off to the other world

" usui-kun that's a fiction document " he pointed out " national archives and historical records prove that Japan did invade south-Korea as does the populations' memory and the soldiers who died during the war " he explained slowly hoping that after repeating it for twelve times so far the information was starting to get to Horohoro's brain... if he had any that is

" who said achieves were right , they are probably corrupted and maybe everybody was brain washed back then and that the dead soldiers were actually the only ones who were immune to brain washing and so were executed " responded the dimwit " you know …the government doesn't want us to realize its secrets " he whispered eyes looking around paranoid

The man's hopes shattered as he felt himself falling into depression , he was about to ask Diathel if he brought his father's gun again aiming to shoot his ailing head and be done with it when …

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang " went the school bell announcing the end of the second period

Tears of joy falling down his cheeks the instructor ran out of classroom S7-K5 not even bothering to take his file-case with him

" what's his problem ?" asked the cause of the man's mini-mental breakdown

His sister sighed ' what did I do to deserve such a baka for onii-san ?' thought she

" he forgot his things " pointed Hao a smirk over his lips " you should bring them back to him Boroboro " he oh so innocently suggested

" IT'S HOROHORO " shrieked the said person " but yeah , I'll do it " he added regaining calmness , then heading out , the teacher's belongings in hand

Yoh slowly approached his smirking brother " that was really cruel nii-san , I think sincei was about to strangle himself and now that you sent horo after him he'll probably do "

" at least we'll get rid of history class then " answered his twin getting up , throwing his stuff in his red and black back-pack which happened to have a silver star emblem on it

" why would you want to get rid of it , when you always excel in it ?" asked Manta sitting behind him over his pile of books

He smirked at him " I excel in everything I do "

Our dear midget could only sweat drop over his tower of knowledge at the confident replay said as if it was the simplest truth

" that's why you burned down the kitchen trying to make an omelet " came Anna's uncaring voice

" what can a guy do when fire loves his guts " he replayed proudly revealing his nonchalance "and to answer your question , I hate history because Boro was actually right in a way -for once- it's filled with bullshit and to think we're still making it "he explained walking toward Tamao who was still laying her head on her desk seemingly fatigued

" slaking in school miss tamamura " he teased bending over to see her face

She looked up yet not bothering to lift her head from its finally comfortable position , he was looking at her as an amused child ,bangs falling down his face , his everlasting smirk on

Sigh

" I still didn't find an idea " she revealed trying to get rid of his presence as soon as possible , it's been three day's since hao first told her she'd have to write the show's main song by herself and ever since he's been appearing in front of her each time she tried to rest , teasing and demanding , heck he even woke her up at 4am in the morning today , saying that witnessing the slow departure of the stars' hopeful glowing while the night lost against the sun rays will help her get inspiration , of course he returned to his sleep after wrecking hers ,and even due she did appreciate the view of the renewed day she still felt as a zombie getting to school …thinking about it she felt as if he had something against her ,he never focused his tormenting treatment on her like this before , but what could it be that made him declare psychological warfare on her ?

" too bad , you'll have to try harder " came his teasing replay as he walked away , out of the class , soon she watched everyone else follow

" where are they going ?" she wondered tiredly

" to the next period " replied Lyserg smiling at her , Jeanne was also beside him but looked very serious for some reason " we should be going too ,shouldn't we ?" added he

" yeah , thank you Lyserg-san "

She got up , threw her back-pack over her shoulders and prepared to follow the English boy who had taken the lead, when Jeanne gently gripped to her wrist , she looked at her , red meeting pink

" Tamao-chan please be careful around Hao " said Jeanne in a surprisingly worried voice

" what ? " asked tamao taken aback by her words which seemed to come from nowhere

" I saw him talking to you and I really don't want you to get hurt , I don't want him to break your heart and…blah blah …bla blah "

Tamao felt her brain go frozen as her jaw slowly but surely fell to the ground , was Jeanne meaning what she thought she meant ?

" I know hao can be charming , I should have warned you before" stammered the French Jesus obsessed girl " but since you two grew up together I never thought you would…"

" PLEASE STOP " interrupted tamao a perturbed expression that said " ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?" on

Jeanne blinked then frowned " I only meant to advise you I've been throughout his games before "

" he was only nagging me about the stupid show !" explained tamao in a desperate tone , how could Jeanne even assume there could ever be anything between her and the long-haired asakura , they barely talked to each other , didn't have any common interest , when they were kids they were even called the reversed opposites by the asakura mansion's servants ( for reasons later to be explained if you don't already get the idea), and beside she saw too much of the boy's "games" especially with Anna to fall for any of his womanizer's bullshit , hell ! he wasn't even her type , her type being another brunet too far for even her dreams to reach now

The albino went like =.=; " oh , my mistake " she apologized embarrassed of her hasty conclusion " it's just that he was smirking so I thought... "

" is there something wrong ?" asked lyserg returning to the awkward scene causing them to fall silent " everybody is waiting for you , amidamaru-sencei was worried " he informed them

The two best friend regained both of their composure

" were coming " gently announced Jeanne

O.O.O.O.O

Ren glared at his adversary a glare full of thirst for revenge , it wasn't the first time he had to stand against this face , he had been defeated by a goofy grinning version of it , then when a second smirking cocky one came about a year ago he had thought he would surely be the winner this time ,but instead he was beat even harder

And even due he became good friends with the first namely Yoh , he had never been able to properly assimilate the second namely Hao , and as he faced him today once more in this unworthy battle field he was determined to make him eat his dust , he was a Tao he came from a line of invincible worriers and leaders victory was a part of his DNA , and moreover he had promised himself to rip him off for something he did to someone he happened to know , only know nothing else , just an acquaintance he talked to from time to time ,nothing serious in fact nothing at all just someone he knew nothing at all … damn he was starting to repeat himself did Horohoro infect him with the baka disease or what?

He re -concentrated himself

Today was not a day to take lightly for today he was going to defeat Hao Asakura

He was so going to…

" GOOOOOOO NII-SAN " came yoh's cheerful voice interrupting his self musing

He turned a killer glare toward his supposed friend while Hao only smiled waiving a hand at his twin who grinned at him sitting on the bench with all their class members

They were all in the gym , for their martial arts 'class which was made obligatory by Goldva their rusty principal , not that Ren opposed it ?in fact he thought that adding martial art to the school's program was a brilliant step toward evolution maybe one day this international educatory establishment will be worthy of his presence in it as was his last privet school back in his mother land

" now, Ren-kun ,Hao-kun I expect you to have a decent fight " declared their very composed yet kindhearted teacher Amidamaru-sinsei standing between the two "remember this is your test for this trimester if you step over the line I won't hesitate to fail you both "

" sure " smirked Hao

" yeah , whatever let's begin already " said Ren taking position

" alright then , please take your respective stands " demanded Amidamaru-sincei

But he didn't even have time to initiate the usual greeting and respects that were supposed to take place before each confrontation that Ren leapt in thunder's speed toward his adversary who on his opposite didn't move an inch , a shriek of war escaped his lips as his golden eyes reflected his uncanny determination

His moves where perfect his techniques flawless some even deadly , so 'WHY THE FUCK WAS THAT KISAMA STILL STANDING ? '

Hao seemed quite amused , He easily dodged the precise attacks as if dancing with his opponent's increasing anger

Ren growled aiming a final strike at him , he smirked as the spike head's fist was flying toward him , but just when it was going to hit him he tuck a swift step to the right , startling his opponent who had thought victory was finally at reach , he grabbed his arm twisted it painfully jumping to his back , Ren had to bit his tongue to suffocate a yelp

Hao's eyes burned in satisfaction ,he freed the sorrowful limb and kicked its owner in the spine sending him down on his knees

But Ren was not one to give up while still conscious , he got up panting he had consumed much energy trying to fulfill a proper strike , but it was not over yet he was still going to win no matter what

He glanced quickly at the crowed ( someone in particular , if you don't know who then I'm really one shitty worth crap writer :) but again I am so maybe you won't so i'll just say it : JEANNE) , then returned his serious attention to Hao who was smirking at him waiting for his next move

' like hell I am gonna lose again to this kisama '

He leapt again toward him , deciding on a frontal attack , but only met an aggressive kick that almost sent him once more meeting the floor ( just imagine the kick hao gave yoh in the last episode of the anime …man, I hate it ) , fortunately for him , he was able to maintain balance

" stop , I saw enough " came the white-haired teacher's voice preventing him from persisting any more

" what do you mean you saw enough , this is not over yet " responded the golden eyed student glaring hatefully at the smirking winner

" it is if you don't want to fail " clarified the elder in a commanding intonation

Ren growled and went out of the gym a pair of bloody red rubies following his steps

" such a bad temper " joked Hao coming to sit next to his brother

Tamao looked at Jeanne beside her , she was gazing toward the path the defeated boy tuck

" excuse me "said she taking her leave

Tamao sweat dropped ' and she says it 's me who 's Under a bad boy's charm suuuuuuuuure -_-;'

**NV: I'm trying my best to keep them all IC believe me it's hard to do in AU especially when it comes to hao , being normal is just abnormal in his case and surprisingly tamao is also a pain takai gave few information about her ,I'm struggling T.T**


	11. lucky loser

**NV: I DO NOT OWN SHAMAN KING.**

a furious Ren went into the weightlifting room an accommodation he adored most , and which he spent a great amount of his in-school free time , it helped him feel more assured less mentally tensed and after being once more defeated by that womanizer he needed it.

Jeanne followed him , watched as he mumbled insults in his mother language , she didn't speak Chinese but guessed from his intonation that he wasn't using a quite elegant vocabulary .

she didn't know why she felt in need to follow him ,but she did , she 's been feeling …affection toward him since the day he approached her , she was crying in her garden after her separation with Hao ,not wanting Marco to perceive her weakness she felt stupid and seeing her neighbor who was known to have an obsession with " BAKA " here "KISAMA " there walk up to her was not really reassuring , but to her surprise even due he kept firm he was also very kind and gentle he didn't say anything much important but his presence eased her , yet after that he started to avoid her especially in public why ? She had no clue.

" are you alright ?" she asked worried for his injuries.

He jerked his head up ' how the hell did she sneak up on me ?'

"What do you want ?" he demanded coldly.

" you were injured ,I was concerned " she admitted somewhat shyly.

He stared at her for a moment , eyes narrowing , he had a bit of a soft spot toward her a fact that he was not about to admit ,but still he hated feeling weak and she made him feel just so.

" go away " he ordered in a tone he made firm.

His words hurt her pride yet she stud there , that determination shining brightly out of her absorbing rubies , did he really think glaring at her emotionlessly was going to make her back down.

"Won't you leave yet ? didn't you get what I said ? ".

She was stubborn but not as much as him , he knew quite well as delicate as she might seem the albino was strongly willed and would never back down.

"Look …don't waste my time , be the good obeying girl that you are supposed to be and leave me if you may alone I have work ", he declared going back to his occupation ,taking away his golden eyes from her bloody ones.

She didn't flinch , she was a good obeying girl indeed ,but this time Jeanne was going to obey her at the moment irritated heart , she walked up to him , turned him towards her obliging him to face her expressionless features , pulled him closer by the coler of his shirt , his cat eyes widened , good so he was starting to understand her actions ,not that she understood much, but she was not about to let him nag her with his barking again , so she pressed her lips against his , depriving him the strength or even will to say a word , she didn't close her eyes preferring to enjoy the unusual amazement in his golden orbs.

They stayed like that she getting stronger by the second , he starting to lose hold on stability , his legs couldn't betray him not now ,in front of her ,she was beating him …beating him so deliciously.

Suddenly she backed away releasing him , turned around then walked out as calmly as she could , leaving him in a unnatural shade of scarlet.

When he lost sight of her silver locks, he couldn't help but finger his lips , which only caused his face to burn harder , did ..did the little French girl just kiss him?...nah..he must have dreamt about it or maybe Horohoro drugged him and he was currently experiencing the most weird sweet ,lovely delusion …that's it he had to make sure.

He hit his arm …he felt it…he slapped his cheek…he felt it … he punched his abdomen as hard as he could ...he felt it .

STOP , he was going into a dangerous field , getting a liking for self mutilation was not something a proper Tao would do …well some did but that was not the topic here , he breathed in , stared blankly into who knows what ,then came to the century's conclusion.

"She kissed me ", he mumbled to the wind.

(Alright , redder then this can't be / Tamao: yep , even my younger self could never compete with this =.= )

Meanwhile , in the school's yard Yoh was chilling over a bench listening to his headphones' melodies , manta on his left looking quite disturbed (big news ) Matilda and Lyserg were supposed to face after Ren and hao ,but as soon as they saw each other Mach said something he couldn't even remember and they started barking at each other it shocked him firstly because Lyserg was a composed type of guy and he never saw him lose it at anyone except Hao , secondly because they both had grins over their faces as if enjoying it and thirdly …

He looked at Yoh's right were their teacher sat seeming to enjoy the nice and warm weather as much as the one between them.

And thirdly ,he continued on his thoughts, because Amidamaru dismissed their class sensing that trying to reason with his demented students was pointless and left hao and tamao unlucky teammate of the perjurers to deal with them.

Everybody's favorite midget sighed ,this was actually a normal situation when it came to their gang.

Horohoro and Chocolove walked up to them.

" Yoh ,Yoh …**YOH** " shirked the Ainu finally catching the attention of the goofy orange lover.

" yo,Horo what's up ?" asked the previously mentioned person yawning.

Amidamaru –sincei silently got up exiting the scene experience warned him things were going to get louder at any moment now that the Usui boy was there.

"what's up ?what's up is that your killer fiancée and my sister found a new member to their torturers club and they look pretty damn pleased with her ideas which means **WE DIE** "screamed Horo pointing a finger at his interlocutor and another to his chest.

Yoh blinked.

" a new member who ?"

Horo horo instantly calmed down , Yoh's attitude was unconscious but bah , if they had to die so be it ,better stay calm waiting their "training ".

" Mari " he responded.

" Mari? but doesn't she like snob us all except Hao and Mach ?" asked Manta intrigued.

" yeah but the two were occupied so she got bored you know ?" answered their dark skinned pal " but man , never seen two people scream at each other like that they almost beat Ren's and Horo's bickering " he added.

" what do you mean I don't bicker like a wedded couple with that kisama " said his group leader pouting arms crossed over his chest.

" but honestly Yoh ,Your brother's group is weird I mean you have two guys who could easily be mistaken for pretty girls then you have two girls who are both tomboyish it's just hilarious" added the Ainu laughing.

" yeah , totally agree man" agreed his teammate bursting in laughter as well.

" could you imagine Hao in a short red dress , Lyserg in a green princely one both with makeup and stuff and Tamao and Matilda both in tuxes and boyish cuts , dude that would be perfect " illustrated Horo laughing even harder.

" yeah , even if Hao would totally give me the creeps with makeup , as if his hair was not enough " added Chocolove.

As both kept laughing their heads off , none of them noticed that Yoh and Manta went dead pale sweating like mad.

They heard someone clear his throat turned around very slowly ,very carefully.

Gulped their hearts in.

Hao was standing behind them a demented smirk over his lips , bangs shadowing his eyes and as if that was not plenty to make them lose all hope of getting out unharmed, his three teammates were a step behind him each with a very dark murderous aura.

the long haired Asakura looked down at the two now miniature boys.

" so you were saying ? " he asked sounding too sweet for them to even think there was a way out of this.

Yoh and Manta backed away of the scene, yet heard the shrieked pain of the two loud mouths clearly..

Damn, it sounded ugly!

" you think we'll ever see them again ?" asked the midget sweat dropping.

" going against Hao ,Tamao,Lyserg and Matti I really don't know " confided his best friend " we should prepare two coffins just incase ".

Just then a tomato with a purple spike walked up to them.

" R-Ren are you alright ?" asked manta seeing the unusual shade on his friend's face.

But Ren didn't have time to respond that he was knocked over by Chocolove's flying corps.

" make that three coffins " rectified a voice beside the short haired Asakura.

"A-ANNA?!" screamed Yoh clutching to his little friend as if he could do a thing against the ice queen.

The blonde didn't seemed to mind , she turned around and started walking in their way home.

" hurry up , Pilika ,Mari and I came up with new training for you and Horo-baka ".

Yoh looked back to where his blue-haired friend was getting his punishment , sweat dropped.

' I don't think there will be enough left of him to train '

**NV: tell me what you think , I'm not used to kissing scenes but I tried my best, SEE 'YA ;)**


	12. ask her out!

**NV: I DO NOT OWN SHAMAN KING**

Jeanne looked out of her window just in front of her was the Tao family mansion , the somewhat dark Chinese like estate facing her white European typed house ,well "house" it was more of a castle , a white castle trying to mimic those we could imagine over the clouds and she was its princesses , its fair lady who had holy blood running down her veins , at least that's how Marco treated her , he gave her so much importance , she was always right even when wrong with him , she was a perfect young lady , a model all others should follow

Her red eyes saddened as a timid breeze caressed her cheeks , all that esteem he and Luchist had in her , she knew she was not what they wanted her to be , yet she tried hard very hard , she was willing to suffer everlastingly if that meant she could be worthy of them , that she could be perfect , she wanted their love, she needed it , without them the castle above the clouds would surely shatter , her warm immaculate wears would rip off her skin , and she would return , return to being another little lonely orphan waiting for someone to save her , standing beside the nuns of Notre-dame de Paris

She felt something cold wet her cheek , she was crying

She wiped her tears, as the sound of her door knocking came to her ears

" Jeanne are you awake ?" asked Marco going in

She smiled perfect children smile to those who cared about them

" yes , what is it Marco ?"

" one of your classmates came to see you " answered the blond he didn't seem quite happy about it

" one of my classmates ?" she repeated unsure it can't be Tamao or else Marco would have announced her as such ,then who ?

" yes , our neighbor Tao Ren he said he was here for your group work " explained he sounding more irritated by the minute

She blinked , felt her heart beat a little bit faster as she wondered 'why did he come?' , they didn't have any work and he spent the day avoiding her in school , he even ran away when she tried to ask him to hand the salt in the cafeteria so why the heck was he here ?

…was it because of what she did yesterday ?

At the close memory , she couldn't help but blush , she never did something like that before , of course it was not her first kiss she did date Hao Asakura after all but it certainly was the first time she made the first step, the first time she did something for the simple reason that she wanted to , even if it was not something a perfect lady would have done

" I am coming " she shyly said to the Italian man still standing near her door

Ren was sitting in the huge living room of his group leader's house , it size and elegant décor didn't impress him the least bit , he was used to luxurious environments being the Tao heir and all , even due back in his place they didn't paint all the walls in white , nor chose silver furniture and they surely didn't hang crucifix in each and every damn wall

He frowned , he didn't like this house at all, it made it feel as if the silver-haired girl he came to meet, was just another accessory which happened to match the aimed atmosphere

Plus That Marco guy looked at him as if they were ancient enemies, but he didn't pay him attention , today his task was most important , and it made him …anxious , YES A.N.X.I.O.U.S , the all mighty (in his dreams) Tao Ren was anxious for today he had no power what so ever , she had it all, today everything laid in her hands , on the tip of her lips , on whether she said yes or no

He heard approaching footsteps , the heavy door being pushed open behind his back

" Ren-san?"

His blood froze , she was there , a couple of feet behind him

' shit ' he cursed internally, why the hell did he come here ? why did he listen to Jun? an hour ago he was happily banging his head over his room's wall trying to figure out how to deal with the unexpected sign of affection demonstrated by the one girl he had a crush on when TADAA! his dear sister appeared and after sucking the story out of him she was more than glad to tell him exactly what he was supposed to do next :ASK JEANNE OUT!

Him being as proud as he was , he couldn't admit to his beautiful nii-san that he knew shit about how to ask a girl out properly , and so he found himself here petrified

Was he a short pointy haired baka or what ? ( Jeanne : don't insult my husband ! / -_- shut up , I'm trying to come up with a beginning for your damn romance here , it's not easy I have shitty writer's block )

-Gulp- ' just relax Ren , be cool '

He turned around very slowly , keeping a composed face before her while inside he was as good as stunned

Jeanne was wearing a fluffy long-sleeved white dress that reached her ankles , her long silver hair was left loose around her and her piercing rubies which hunted his mind since their …their kiss , yes those beautiful rubies where defiantly focusing on his golden orbs

The scene was perfect EXEPT for the blond bodyguard standing beside her , glaring at him as if he was the devil crashing into heaven

" is there something wrong ?" asked Jeanne angelically as usual

He blinked , what was he here for again ? oh yes ask her out …but how was he supposed to ask her out when four eyes seemed on the verge of blowing up ?

He'll just say it and be done with it , let four eyes burn if he wants to

" do .you want to .go out …with me? "he stammered looking away ,thinking ' BAKA,BAKA,BAKA ….BAKA …'

" WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT ? "screamed Marco turning into hulk unable to believe the guts that Chinese brat had

" yes " answered Jeanne smiling widely causing both males to turn to her like O.O

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" repeated Marco somehow even louder

Ren thought he was going deaf for a second , maybe four eyes' first scream made him start hearing imaginary things ,but the silver-haired girl's smile assured him he wasn't

" I'll see you in the weekend then"

" it would be lovely " smiled she

" I'll...I'll be going " and with that he ran out

Jeanne felt as if she was in a dream , she had to tell this to her best friend , skipping to her room ,she left a pretty red Marco fuming as if he was a volcano about to irrupt

Did they yes or no just totally ignore him ?

( yes they did :))

In funbari inn , four teenager and a pedophile (sorry , all Ryu-fans ) silently ate dinner when...

-I'm a barby girl in a barby world it's fantastic …- rang a phone

" ups , gotta' get this " apologized Ryu leaving the room

" I told you he was sick " commented Hao bringing his chopsticks to his mouth while the three left sweat dropped

They continued their meal when...

Radioactive by imagine dragons started playing

" excuse me "said Tamao leaving as well

When she got back she had a faint smile plastered on her face , Jeanne just announced the big news , she seemed quite joyfull

" something happened ? " asked Yoh

" nothing " she sat again and somehow her gaze turned to the older Asakura twin 'he really lost her now '

Sensing her gaze he looked into her eyes , she blinked turning her gaze off him

" don't make planes for the weekend miss Tamamura " he ordered nonchalantly " we've got work to do "

**NV: that's it see ye' ;)**


	13. fashion , a killer way

**NV: I DO NOT OWN SHAMAN KING**

Tamao woke up , her clock showed 10 am , late considering she was used to waking up at 6 am each morning but why not ? it was weekend after all

She showered, got dressed , a white oversized t-shirt and a pair of jeans the usual , brushed her hair , then went down to the living room where Ryu was happily sitting reading something she wished she didn't see

She cleared her throat

Ryu tuck his eyes off his porn magazine , then seeing her, stuffed it Under his ass

" oh , miss Tamao your up " he smiled awkwardly " Anna –sama and Yoh-sama went out early and Hao spent the last hour fuming on how you were late "

She blinked " late for what ?"

Suddenly Hao popped out an inch away of her face causing her to practically skip a beat taking several steps back

" late for our appointment miss Tamamura " he informed somewhat unsatisfied " we'll have to take SOF "

He grabbed her wrist and skipped toward the exit while she tried to break his progress with no use even though she was able to grab her katana , it was best when near him ,you know lunatic fan girls and all

"what appointment ?" she cried as he kept on going toward his dear engine

He stopped reaching it " you'll see "

He got on it , putting his personal helmet on ,then handing her a simple grey one, she stud still staring at him

" what ?" he asked " do I need to make you sit too ? "

She wore the helmet, sat herself behind him trying to avoid physical contact as much as she could

" you should hold on miss Tamamura " he teased getting ready to start his mechanical baby

" I'm fine , it's not my first time riding a motor-bike "

He shrugged " suit yourself , SPIRIT OF FIRE LET'S GO "

And with that the SOF activated in an unbelievable speed almost knocking her over ,obliging her to clutch hard into the boy's waist ,he laugh , she instantly backed away , but still held into his shirt , this was irritating

They stopped a while later, after the smell of his hair filled her senses during the whole trip , not that it was unpleasant since it was similar to a bizarre mixture of cinnamon and pineapples , the thing is it was HIS smell which made it hard to enjoy

She blinked getting off " a mall ?"

He smirked walking in the shopping center not bothering to explain , she examined the situation for a moment before following him , he led them toward a very luxuriously looking shop , the employee at the entrance greeted them then asked them to take place inside a privet show room which honestly intimidated her

She turned to him ready to ask yet a question ,but didn't get the chance to since he pushed her inside the changing room , so suddenly that Tamao didn't quite understand the situation until he locked the door behind her back

"What the…what are you doing ? Hao ?...HAO?" she knocked repeatedly at the locked door feeling more into murdering her self -proclaimed group leader until cloths articles started raining over her head , stopping her in the middle of aiming to slice the door open with her katana , she blinked

"What is he doing ?" she whispered quietly to herself

"Dressing you up ,What does it look like I am doing ? (apparently not so quietly ) and what happened to the –san , are we getting closer miss Tamamura ?" joked the irritatingly smug voice , she could clearly imagine the smirk on his face

"By the way the door will be opened in a sixty seconds , you better start getting dressed or else I'll have to help you out " he so kindly added then not even bothering to give her time to assimilate his announcement " the countdown start's now"

' the hell…' she tuck off her t-shirt and jean quicker than a heart beat grabbed a random dress off the ground and put it on as fast as she could ,trying to arrange her way thru its many layers of delicate fabric, imagining a million way to kill or torture an ass-whole par second

"Five…four … three…two …one ,OPEN " declared the said ass-hole's cheerful voice

Immediately , she was revealed to the public , to see the long-haired Asakura sitting one leg over the other sipping a cappuccino in a comfortable looking sofa , with probably all the female sellers surrounding him , smiling while showing him a dress over the other , fighting to win his attention

He smiled innocently at her (how typical …) , putting his cappuccino over the modern table-base

"What do you ladies think ?" asked he in a repulsively seductive tone

"She look awful" exclaimed one

"And pale" added another

"It doesn't suit her at all " said a third

"Well , you heard them , next "

Yet another bimbo-like seller in about her late twenties , handed her an extremely short red dress , staring down at her as she did ( note: the bitch was the same height as her) definitely these "ladies" were not fond of her

"Aren't you going in ? "asked Hao tiling his head to his right , putting on his harmless angel façade on causing the bimbo-ic crowd around him to smile even more idiotically ( if possible )

Tamao breathed in trying to keep her temper Under control , one of the few information she had about him , was that he adored tormenting other peoples' minds to kill the boredom , so it was better not to enter his little game

"Why are we here ? "she asked as calmly as she could force herself to

"Buying you a dress for the party "answered he, bringing his cappuccino back to his lips

"I already have a dress "

"The one you wore to the funeral "

"No , the…"

"You mean the one similar to Anna's but minus the tempting length then" he cut in pushing a stray lock away off his face" I couldn't set them apart"

He was making fun of her , she sighed this was useless but she was not going to give up that easily

"I could have went with …"

"Anna or perhaps Jeanne , no thanks , you are the main performer I wouldn't want you to come dressed as if in grief or as a nun , we have to dress you up nicely ,ne ladies ? " he asked smirking in triumph while the all nodded approving his every word

"… we should try showing more skin , ne ?" added he smiling a bit maliciously

The sellers nodded again smiling widely some even giggling like true satanic followers , when she finally had it and brought her katana out of it protection , pointing it right toward the laid-back figure ( even though she realized it was of no use against him)

"I am not going to show more of anything"

"Relax , I didn't say you were going to sing nude , now did I ?" he replied not the least bit affected

Yet the crowd previously occupied with picking the most outrageously revealing dresses for the young girl not even paying any importance to her age , stopped horrified of her action and were more than willing to express their revulsion

"That is not at all an appropriate behavior for a lady"

"Having such a wonderful boyfriend and treating him as such "

"She really doesn't deserve you , mister Asakura "

Tamao stud stunned unable to pronounce a word as Hao waived his hand smiling at the last speaker

" call me Hao "

"Oh , yes Hao-san "

Tamao watched as the women blushed like made probably the way she would have a few years back if she found herself in this situation , thanking god it was not the case , she clutched at her katana and breathed deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep in to cool herself down …oh dammit , let it go to hell

"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND" she yelled on top of her lungs , drawing everyone's surprise and attention to her ( the Bs' , the costumers' and even Hao's)

But Hao being Hao didn't show his surprise for longer than a couple of seconds , regaining his composed mister I-know-it-all appeal

"That is correct I am not , I am her love's brother" declared he tossing his long bangs over his shoulders then smiling seductively at the still shocked sellers

telling them that!, didn't she precise to him that she was not in love with Yoh anymore , resigning, she put her sword down near the changing room and tuck the pile of clothes proposed to her then disappeared in it to get this over with , while in the back ground the women gazed at the younger teen with sparkling eyes , knowing he was open for the hunt not realizing he was THE hunter in this case ( or any other actually)

Tamao chose to only try on the "reasonable" garments , which were like a timid drop in the sea of enveloping , glittery , extravagant dresses which all seemed to be particularly chosen to disadvantage her at her feet ( considering the army of "ladies" who picked them for her , it was predictable)

She tried one over the other , sighing , pouting as Hao's kept repeating

"Next "

"Next "

"Next"

"Good one , we should buy it for Kino she'd appreciate "

"Next "

"Next "

"next!" ( this one was for a VERY "sexy" one as the evilest bitchyseller that forced this chapter unlucky main character into it explained , and guess what Hao Asakura turned his head and a faint blush could almost ,ALMOST ,ALMOST be perceived on his cheeks , that just proves how inappropriate it really was )

And so they went , until...

"Ladies , you are our last chance " he dramatically declared

And with that they charged , pulling her by the arm , bringing out the big guns " the new collections" ,Tamao could swear those things were raining from the sky , dresses and accessories , the "saviors" pulling her right then left she felt sick , an a completely desperate , help pleading look drew itself over her face with Hao smiling amused by her agony , laughing each time she was asked about her fashion tastes ,questions that sounded completely alien to her , at least now they were really aiming to get her a good result ,not like before when they thought her and Hao were together ,she thought sighing ( she sighed a lot today , I wonder why? OvO)

"This one will fit you wonderfully "

"No this one's perfect it'll bring forward her eyes' color"

"This one is the same pink as your hair it will be magnificent on you "

"No what are you telling this poor girl this one' s far more matching "

"Don't worry hun' your sempais are going to make you look gorgeous"

"I swear I saw it here ,where is it ? did you see it ?"

"What?"

"The newly proposed design "

"Oh that"

"Of course ,look at her I am sure it'll fit her like no one else"

The sellers Going to search for this ultimate gown , Tamao was finally left to take a breath , throwing her body beside Hao in the sofa ,she laid back trying to enjoy the surely short peace

"Do you want some ? " asked he offering her some kind of refine aperitifs previously brought to him

He stuffed her in hell with out as much as a warning and he still had the guts to smile like that in her face ,why wouldn't he ? he didn't do anything but sit their either smirking or laughing at her , ingestion the cocktail snacks that were served to him but she was so hungry they skipped lunch and she didn't even have a proper breakfast …because of him

Deciding to ease her empty stomach she nodded and was about to taste it when

"WE FOUND IT "

And so she was pulled away of what was to be her first bit of alimentation since morning , and shoved inside the changing room for the millionth time that day , handed a pearly white long-sleeved robe , with a bared back , sophisticated lace on its chest ,sleeves and abdomen and beautiful volumes on its lower half . it was probably the simplest she was given since this massacre begin but nevertheless her favorite

The sleeves enveloped her arms perfectly , the fabric was soft and comfortable , her back seemed strangely sensual , the milky color interacted agreeably with her hair color and she almost regained her blushing faculty noting that she looked…cute maybe even beautiful something that despite getting rid of her pathological shyness she was not used to

She tuck a long breath , then walked off the changing room ,acting as confident as she could after seeing her reflection, but suddenly finding great interest in a fashion mural decoration refusing eye contact with anyone especially Yoh-lookalike of a brother …it was …quiet ,she started feeling even more uncomfortable why was it so quiet all of a sudden ?

"Didn't I tell you it was made for her" whispered one of the shop's advisors

"We'll take it " came the so long awaited announcement

She turned her head toward ,Hao , who was smiling genuinely at her, his dark always so fiery eyes aiming straight into hers

**O.O.O.O.O**

She undressed regaining to her first wear ,It was done. finally , she survived hell on earth and came out of it with a precious prize , she could at least regain her calm ( somewhat damaged during this epic battle with the evil forces of fashion ) return home , eat one or two bowls of Ryo's rise and some sushi too yummy , she could practically taste it

"What are you dreaming about?"

That brought her out of her delightful daydreaming and back into reality to see Hao two feet away from her hands in his pockets, looking bored now that his funny spectacle was done , he had just paid and was waiting for her to come along

"Nothing"

She calmly walked along , bowing slightly to those who helped her find her satisfaction (…after torturing her but yet they helped) before leaving the store followed by yelled pleads going from "please come back again , hao-kun" to " we'll miss you hao-kun , visit us soon "

' – kun' , he sure is fast'

Her companion nonchalantly waved goodbye , used to this kind of treatment

"I'll pay you back " she assured not whiling to take no for an answer

"No need , I used the budget principal Goldva gave me "he responded as if it was the most natural thing in the world

He glanced at her , then back into the crowded horizon

"We were supposed to use it for the singers outfits anyway ,and beside I got a fifty percent discount so we've got plenty of money left "

"Fifty percent? " she repeated disbelievingly ' but it looked very expensive and …'

"I could have gotten it for free if I wished to "he affirmed his smug smirk returning to rule over his features

'no comment '

At least they were going home

" we're still not finished yet " he declared as if reading her mind ,shattering her hope in the process

This was going to be a long day


	14. my dear's lips and my sis's boobs

**NV: this tuck me a while , sorry for anyone who cares and sorry again since it's probably a crappy chapter , I have to admit I'm running out of ideas here , I already got this fic's ending figured out but getting to it might be tricky -_-;**

Away of her now defiantly depressed starving best friend and her playful ex , Jeanne was not in the best position as well

She was sitting at the end of a long elegant table with an equally uncomfortable Ren at the other end

They were in a French/Chinese gastronomic restaurant that Jun kindly recommended for their first date , the place was beautiful and represented the two cultures' marriage fantastically , it would have been a perfect idea for the occasion if they didn't somehow and after a long discussion about whether the French cuisine beat the Chinese one or not , decide to each try a dish from the other's mother land

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad idea

Jeanne looked down at her plat , grimacing in disgust , it was a chicken soup , she thought it was a safe choice at first , but that was before she saw the poor volatile's head floating in it

-Gulp-

she stared toward her date

Ren had an equally repulsed expression on , he ordered « Escargot marinée avec sa sauce daille » of course Jeanne did ask him if he was sure of his order , but Ren Tao being Ren Tao did not admit that he knew nothing about the French language and that he just ordered the first thing he spotted and happened to be expensive enough to match his taste

The least that could be said is that he didn't REPEAT didn't expect to be served smashed snails resting in their shells with a smelly garlic sauce as dipping , and he could swear he saw one of the snails move

-Gulp -

He lifted his gaze to meet the rubies like eyes of the girl before him , she forced a reassuring smile that caused his cheeks to turn bright red in an instant , he looked down again at his plate muttering " BAKAS "underneath his breath

Unknown to the young couple , three individuals sitting in a shadowed corner of the restaurant were observing their every move with great interest

" why are they silent ?" asked Jun trying to be as discreet as possible, wearing her usual sexy green and golden dress

" I'm so happy! bochama is finally having a date !" cried bassoon Ren's body guard since childhood while wiping his nose in the table's cover causing a waiter to faint seeing him

Beside him a four-eyed blonde growled looking over the menu at his dear perfect angel

" if that brat dares to think something perverted about Jeanne I'll rip him apart " he hissed ayes narrowing dangerously when someone grabbed his shoulder with inhuman force

" no one will rip bochama apart while I'm present " declared the previously crying bodyguard a very dark aura around him

Marco cocked an eyebrow at him " are you threatening me ?"

" what does it look like ?"

Instantly the blond stud up " HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT ME WHO_ " but Marco never had the chance to continue on his stupid illogical speech that Bason hit him hard on the head causing him to faint back in his seat

" they spotted us " informed Jun disappointed seeing that her dear little brother and his silver-haired companion were leaving the place with their " gastronomic " lunch left intact

She looked down at the unconscious four eyed blond , Marco had a pool of drool coming out of his mouth

-sigh-

" please carry him Bason "

" yes , Jun-sama "

They stud up Marco hanging like a potato bag over the Chinese mountain- like guy's shoulder

Outside , Jun looked around searching for an unmistakable purple spike , seeing it she smiled in satisfaction

" let's go Bason "

" yes , Jun-sama " yet again responded the dutiful employee

" no mommy I don't want to go to school yet " whined the potato bag , I mean Marco sucking his thumb

Both his Chinese companions sweat dropped

" Ren was right this man is a baka " stated the overly appealing young woman

Bason nodded , then forgetting the subject they walked discreetly spaying on the Tao family pride and heir who just happened to be lousy around angelic silver-haired ladies

Jeanne looked over her shoulder " they are still following us "

Ren huffed " I can't believe my sister is helping four eyes "

Jeanne pouted , Marco meant a lot for her and even due so did Ren , she was not about to let him insult him like that " Marco-san is a very clever person , he wouldn't have been in need for an outsider's help , I'm sure Jun-san decided to follow us on her own "

" yeah , very clever that's why he's sucking his thumb over Bason's shoulder " sarcastically responded her "charming" date arms folded over his chest

The fifteen years old girl beside him sighed then smiled " honestly , I must admit Marco-san was wrong to bother himself there is obviously no need to be afraid in this situation "

Ren cocked an eyebrow at her stopping in his tracks while she kept moving on elegantly in her perfect way to always act so damn perfectly

" what do you mean ?"

She stopped turning , then smiling angelically at him " Marco-san is afraid of what a normal man might think of a women when going on their first date, but that isn't an issue here"

Her tone was sweat and gentle but it somehow irritated him

" I'm a normal man " he declared somewhat angrily

" so you have thoughts about me ?" she asked even more "innocently "

His face turned bright red " i…I didn't say that …I …"

" as I said nothing to fear " she repeated smiling at his embarrassment then turning around when he grabbed her wrist , suddenly bringing her to his chest

He looked at her in the eyes, his yellow orbs shining like gold while he tried to control the heat in his cheeks, she blinked , he gulped , moving his face closer to hers , she blushed as well , as they became closer and closer and closer just a little bit left to go , she slightly opened her lips , he gulped even harder

behind a nearby store, Jun was starting to turn into Pilika, over the top exited , good thing she decided to spy on Ren this was a priceless moment

" they are going to kiss !" said she over joyfully to the dedicated crying bodyguard , but just then Marco jumped off the man's shoulder , to land on his feet producing a gun out of nowhere, the word "kiss" unluckily woke him up

" LET GO OF JEANNE YOU BRAT" he screamed dashing toward the couple only to slam in Jun trying to stop his from ruining everything

Crashing ,they fell , only problem is that he fell over the young women in a not so proper position where his head was pretty much between her breasts , they didn't move for a while shocked

Before he jumped to his feet , face even redder then Ren's, he pushed his glasses up " I …I …I apologies " he stammered given his hand for the young woman to take

Jun was scarlet , but still tuck the offered help just when she stud up to face the uncomfortably hot Italian a shriek she recognized as her brother's came to her ear

Ren was totally red but this time out of pure pissed off anger, yep, he saw it all

" KISAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

And with that he leapt toward the blond

" but, what about my kiss ?" whined Jeanne disappointed as they started an unending battle of honor and pointless insults

**NV: I don't know how but this kinda went into a MarcoXJun thing …weird O.O**

**BTW: see'ya ;)**


	15. visiting the police station ,fun,ne?

**DISCLAIM : I DO NOT OWN SHAMAN KING **

Tamao had to bother with Hao dragging her all around the mall for accessories , shoes ( which she managed to convince him to get flat , really who needs heals when one is already over tall for one's age? ) and then having to wait for him while he chose from several practically identical tuxes , he kept asking which one fit him more with that cocky smirk of his , he knew anything suited him perfectly well, he just wanted to hear her say it but NEVER , she maintained her patience and in the end at probably 6 pm they we're officiously done with the torture …I mean the shopping session

That's when she first smile trough the whole day , she actually believed that they were returning home and that she could finally eat something filling

But man was she wrong or what ?

The clock of the police station showed 8 pm , officers were busily taking care of urgency calls , people getting, in getting out while she and the long haired Asakura sat side by side , sitting on two separate plastic chairs in the waiting hall , BTW they were hand-cupped to each other

Hao lifted his right hand obliging her to lift her left , he looked blankly at the hand-cups then at her

" I never imagined my first time using these things would be with you " he declared bored while slowly closing his eyes " and I certainly didn't think I would be dressed " he added as a matter of fact

Tamao felt her cheeks heat up , lava rising to her head , she was starving , dead tiered in a police station and to add to her joy the bastard just had to speak his PERVERTED mind out

She hastily stud up and walked to the station's reception , dragging him along , he growled " it's already bad enough to have these things around my wrist …in this situation ,so don't add to it "

She brutally turned to him ' damn smirk !'

" me adding to it ?" she questioned nearly reaching her limits " it's YOUR fault for beating up those men "

He looked away nonchalantly moving his fingers down his absurdly long silky hair , he was not about to feel any regret for what he did , those stupid ass-wholes dared to whistle at them while they were waiting in front of a red light , they yelled quote " hey babes hot engine wanna see ours " they called Hao Asakura a babe !

what followed was too violent to be described

"just in case you forgot miss Tamamura , you participated as well " he stated casually " and if it was not for your katana , these guys wouldn't have kept us here , we're acquaintances , you know ?" and here he goes again with the smirk

Tamao inhaled , exhaled , no point in arguing with the devil as her best friend called him , she turned to the agent at the reception desk

" can you tell me when will I have my katana back , please ?" she politely asked keeping a straight face

" and SOF " added Hao looking sternly at the man , they tuck his precious baby that made them qualified to earn his fury

"soon " answered the officer sighting at the seasoned member, then smiling looking at the beautiful long magenta-haired teenager , he was only twenty-three so maybe he had his chances ( -_- pervert )

"don't worry ,we will wait until your friends bring the certificate proving you are allowed to carry it , then we will return it "

" arigato "she coldly replied this guy had a way of looking at her that she didn't like at all , who knows? maybe he'll be the first to suffer her sword's blade after this is over , even due cutting a police member to little aperitif cubs might be troublesome

Aperitif , her stomach growled loudly , she looked down nearly blushing , Hao blinked that was loud for a girl , she could almost compete with Boro-boro

" if you want I can get you something " offered the man smiling wider happy to have a starting point " I bet I young lady like you loves chocolate"

' pervert '

" no , thank you" she replied slightly coking an irritated eye-brow at him

" but why not ? it might be a long night "

By now Tamao was really starting to get annoyed, the man had begun using a voice tone that was quite womanizer-ich ,even slightly annoying Hao but he didn't reveal it

' Ryu ,and now this guy , miss Tamamura really attracts pedophiles ' (-_-; sais the one who's ONE THOUSEND years old /Ryu : OvO/Hao: you're the fucking writer! , and pedophilia is a matter of body not soul / yeah right …but who cares? I still like you two :) / Hao&amp;Tamao : =.= she's going nuts ! )

" it won't be " declared a cold authoritarian voice they knew so well " we're here "

They turned , she sighted , he smirked waived his free hand " hey otoutou , dear Anna "

Back at the house , Tamao apprehensively walked through the corridor heading back to the living room, after they came back Anna was furious , she had to pay their custody and Anna hated spending money no matter how low the amount was , so both she and Hao discreetly left , leaving Yoh to try and calm his fiancée down

But feeling guilty and a bit worried for the grinning Asakura she decided to go check on them, and there she was standing at the living room's door step to see the engaged couple silently kissing each other , charring a warm embrace

her heart winced , her eyes saddened despite her , she felt bitter knowing she was still making the same mistakes she tried to get rid of , turning she stepped back on her tracks but slammed into something hard ,warm and seemingly fleshy

she looked up ,blinked , Hao was staring at the two couples behind her back

he looked at her in the eyes , he could still be intimidating not like when they used to be kids but still , he smirked nearing his face to hers

" do you want to see how it feels like ?" he asked maliciously , eyes as if burning in fire

She blinked , cheeks heating up " wh-WHAT?" she yelled backing away

" is there something wrong ?" came Yoh's voice from where he was

" nothing , miss Tamamura fell for I little joke that's all" replied his twin smirking at the now angry face of his youngest cohabitant

" people don't joke like that "she hissed

He shrugged "relax , I was just seeing if you were still there "

-_-;;" where would I be ? In hell "she muttered

" well, miss Tamamura , you slammed in me half naked and yet didn't flinch , I had my reasons to doubt ,ne?" he asked way too sweetly

She looked at him , blinked once , twice , thrice , clenched her fists , cheeks going pink

The womanizer was nude except for a towel around his waist , his long hair was wet and some locks stuck to his skin

She gazed to the ground , embarrassed of the sight , she hated this guy why the hell was he able to make her blush when others lost that capacity ?, maybe the world went upside down, in the end he was the only one unable to back in their childhood , never had the chance to actually

" can't you wear a yukata after getting out of the onsen " she said exhaling

He shrugged , turned around

" you should get something to eat " he advised disappearing out of her sight

Her stomach yet again growled, how the heck did she forgot ?

She went to the kitchen ,while in the living room the love birds separated but were still looking at each other as if charring an untold secret

" you think we should tell them ?" asked Yoh seriously

" let's wait for Faust to give us the test results first "

The blonde was somewhat concerned a state she was not used to reveal

" you're right "

he grinned , she smiled.

**NV: and I'm done …see'ya ;)**


	16. surprise!

**NV: is my name Takai ? NO** **so** **I DO NOT OWN SK** **:) thank you**

Hao and Tamao marched slowly back to the onsen after another day in school , a day Yoh and Anna missed on , saying they had things to do , they had been going out quite often lately ,never explaining where they went , but neither of their cohabitant found it necessary to bug them about it , in the end they were engaged it was normal for them to chare time together even if skipping school to do so , was a little …you know

Yet When they arrived they came face to face with an unusual sight to say the least , Yoh was holding the hand of a somewhat tensed Anna smiling happily at the newcomers

"We have something to tell you" ,declared Anna in her habitual tone

"I'll make some tea ", replied Tamao getting a bite paler which didn't go unnoticed by Hao

They settled on the ground facing each other on the traditional Japanese dinner table , Tamao served green boiling tea , then all went silent

"You see …, we did some tests a while ago and …today the hospital called and… "began Yoh smiling sheepioushly

"I am pregnant" , cut the blonde to the chase looking straight in Tamao's eyes for some reason

The magenta haired girl didn't flinch , yet Under the table her hand clutched to her uniform's skirt, all the times she heard Anna throw up in the early morning , all the times she noticed that the girl's mood swings had augmented the last few months , her suspensions when the couple had started leaving home for mysterious reasons , she had been expecting this , but actually hearing it hurt

Suddenly Hao burst in hysterical laughing beside her, holding his stomach, attracting three widened pairs of eyes toward him

"I can't believe my otoutou is no longer a virgin while I am ", he revealed between suffocated laughs

Silence …

Even flies and crickets were in too much of a shock to interrupt

A car crashing in the street , a nuclear bomb exploding somewhere , and the sound of several fan-girls going utterly crazed

More Silence then …

"**SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP**" came Anna's legendary left ,let's just say she was pretty red in the face whilst her fiancé was flat on his belly trying to hide his tomato face from them

"DID I JUST HEAR HAO SAY HE WAS A VIRGIN" ,screamed Ryu after storming in the room leaving the working onsen to itself , a bizarre mixture of shock ,amusement and victory on his face

"Yep , the difference between us is that I was the one to reject millions of offers not the other way around" , answered the "virgin" smirking down at the cook breaking the previous look on his perturbing face turning it to T.T

Anna was about to explode did they yes or no hear her say she was freaking pregnant ?

"SHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP ", she roared causing Hao's and Tamao's hair to go flag- like while Ryo's pompadour dissolved

"As I said I am pregnant, and I would like Tamao to be the baby's godmother ,and Yoh-baka insisted that Hao-baka be his godfather ", she repeated returning to her setting position and calm coldness

Tamao and Hao blinked simultaneously at the two

"Wait a minute" , interrupted Ryo marking a pause ," IS ANNA-SAMA PREGNANT OF YOH-SAMA ?"

"From who else would I be if not Yoh you stupid shithead" ,hissed the girl while Yoh once again buried his face in the ground ," anyway your answers ?"

Tamao felt her heart sink down her abdomen , being the godmother of the son of the one she loved for so long ,that was cruel torture , but it was Anna her friend who always stud up for her when she was still too shy to do so herself who was asking her not Yoh , plus she could feel that behind the cold façade the blonde was not as confident as usually which caused her to smile kindly as always

"Of course Anna-san ,Yoh-san ,congratulation "

"Thank you Tamao" , responded the future mother in a voice frailer then her normal one

"And you ?" she added regaining her cold tone

"Do you really think I would say no to my dear otoutou in something like this ? "smiled Hao

"I'll take it as a yes "

"ANIKI !, I am so happy !" declared the father-to-be eyes an inch away from tearing up as he forced a suffocating hug on his brother

"Alright ,stop it already yoh, you are going to strangle me ",pushed Hao face turning blue

"I can't I am soooooooooooo happy"

"Me toooooooo ", wailed Ryu tears of joy running down his cheeks

"Yoh ", called Anna

The shorthaired brunet immediately relished his twin and saluted his dear army-style

"Yes ,Anna "

"Go prepare our baggage "

"Hai ,mame "

And off he was

"Baggage ?" inquired the Elvis-wanna-be

"We are going to izmu this afternoon to bring the news to Kino and Yohmai," announced Anna ," I'll leave the house in your care"

"Sure thing dear Anna " smirked her future brother-in-law

"Baka , I was speaking to Tamao"

"Its fine Anna-san we'll be ok" , smiled the said person despite the wound she covered inside

"""""""""""

Hao sat over the onsenc's roof , Yoh and Anna went to Izmu during the day , that pathetic Ryu went home leaving him and Tamao alone ,she didn't seem in the mood to discuss the show's preparations their only point of conversation and went in her room after they had diner ,that's when he came out to meet his "obsession " but the night carried few stars under a threatening clouded sky ,it was going to rain soon yet he didn't care ,He was happy for his little brother, who was going to become a father , that promised a lot of fun for him he meant for his brother probably not so much

He will never admit it but his brother' offer to make him his child's god-father meant a lot to him ( wonder how Anna agreed thought) ,but his mind kept slipping toward the pink haired girl he now came to know a bit better , when he looked in her eyes as anna confided her pregnancy he could see pain, great pain yet she smiled and congratulated them who were going to have to mature prematurely to take care of the life they created ( mature? Yoh? , don't make me laugh …wait a sec imagine if it was horo O.O), stronger or not she still had trouble fighting off her feelings toward Yoh

He drew deeper in thoughts when the sound of the door slowly sliding open underneath his feet brought him back to reality, he looked down, and there she was, her long pink hair loose still in her sakura petals yukata , she did not look up to him , didn't seem bothered by the upcoming storm

He saw her walk out the gate

' she finally went nuts'

He observed her figure walk away in the distance , sighed looking up at the heavily clouded sky , then jumping down the roof , entered the house silently to get an umbrella then followed her before she could disappear of his sight

They walked him a couple of meters away behind her so as not to disturb her , he was about to interfere as two apparently drunken men approached her when she revealed her katana causing them both to back away into another ally , 'at least she was lucid enough to bring protection' he observed with some relief

They continued their pointless march , but soon the rain caught up at first timidly then more persistently , yet she did not stop , lightning could be distinguished from time to time , Hao frowned slightly

was she trying to kill herself or what ? why did she smile and accept Anna's offer then ? why didn't she ever reveal her feelings to his twin ?

A stupid girl's stupid feelings

He fastened his pace a little to catch up to her , opening the umbrella , he turned her toward him , looking straight in her pink eyes expecting them to be blurred but they weren't they were blank empty

He looked at her she was soaking wet same as he at the moment rain drops splashing over her skin

"Are you ok ?" he was about to say but restrained the question was stupid she clearly wasn't ,he was not the type of person to ask such useless question, usually he wouldn't even care but he couldn't let his main singer reach another country , now could he?

"let's go home "said he tonelessly

Suddenly a tine tear fell down her right cheek silently whispering all the things she couldn't say

He realized his face rather his brother's was the cause of it , taking her hand he placed the umbrella in it and prepared to move away , taking some of her soreness in his features when she grabbed his wrist , preventing him from going further , stepped a step toward him , for a second making him suspect she was about to kiss him ( making him feel strangely …embarrassed why? Perhaps he was used to making the first move, go figure) , but instead she held the umbrella up so it would cover both of them , and placed herself beside him silently ,he looked at her slightly surprise , her bangs shadowed her eyes depriving him the accommodation to see through them to her soul

Understanding her action he walked straight, she followed right beside him, and so they headed back to the onsen

When they finally arrived they went in , headed each toward their respective rooms , she opened hers , glanced dryly at him as if about to say something , but he had no interest in hearing , and entered his room before she had time to talk any unnecessary shit

Tamao looked down sternly at the ground , then imitated him closing her door behind her

The night went one while both disappeared stuffed in their private realms

( did you think that was it ? me too :))

**AT 2 : OO AM**

Hao was awakened by his phone ringing nonstop , he growled answering

" do you want to get killed ? " he hissed at the anonymous number

" ARE YOU REALLY A VIRGIN ? "

His eyebrow twitched as the speaker on the other end started laughing like a brainless maniac

" if you ever bug me again , pilika will be the first to chare my bed " he declared coolly a smirk appearing over his half asleep face

" …gulp…sleep tight "

" sleep tight Chocolove-baka "

' what a loser '

**NV : ...see ya ;)**


	17. the sane one is sick

**Hao: she - points a finger at NV - doesn't own shaman king **

**Tamao : THANK GOD! **

**Hao : exactly!…wait what do you mean?**

**Tamao : aren't you supposed to read minds ? you guess**

**Hao : -pout-**

**NV; - eating a peanut butter sandwich - …oh sorry ! On with my boring fic **

The morning sun rays , intruded Asakura Hao's room , caressing his face , soon waking him up , he stud up, walked up to his window , opened it , breathed in the clear air of the not yet fully awakened city , the silence of its streets interrupted once in a while with a singing birds greeting , nothing would have indicated the rain storm that fell upon it yesterday , except for few pools that would soon stop to persist and evaporate Under the effect of the promising day's heat

He tuck of his yukata folded it , put on a pair of washed up jeans , a bit over sized for his slim body as was the sleeveless t-shirt he wore next , his favorite one which had a dark red star chap on it , he then brushed his hair now completely dry , he exited his room into the corridor which separated it from his brother's , he was about to enter the said room to wake his dear twin up when he remembered that Yoh and Anna were in izmu , at least he was not about to hear the feisty blonde rock the roof shaking his otoutou to get in time for school

He got downstairs expecting to see Tamao already up and hoping she made them her famous cinnamon flavored coffee, he really needed something to fully bring him out of his somnolence …damn! he was starting to act like Yoh!

But to his surprise , she wasn't there

' maybe she was embarrassed of yesterday and decided to go to school on her own ' , shrugging he heading toward the kitchen to get himself some breakfast

He gulped down his (rather Yoh's) orange juice, tuck one of Anna's rice crackers for the road (she wouldn't mind, ne?) , Headed toward the entrance hall , put on his uniform's jacket , bent down to reach for his ranger boots but stopped in the middle of his action , something had cote his attention

Tamao's shoes were still in place , now unless she tuck off feet bared which was unlikely she must be home , weird the girl always woke up so damn early

Turning around , walking back on his steps , he went toward the corridor that separated the two female residents' rooms on the second floor , in front of her door he stopped knocked , there was no response

Another knock , nothing

"Wakie wakie miss Tamamura , we're going to be late for hell "he teased smirking even due no one could see

Yet nothing , features now expressing evident boredom , he decided to come in , it was not as it he was intruding while she was taking her bath , changing or anything so it was perfectly fine

But when he opened the door , what he saw made him stop in his way in

The fifteen years old girl , was Laying on her back over her futon, her waist length magenta colored hair forming a sort of hallo around her , her yukata ( not the same as the last one ) was sticking to her skin soaked in sweat , her face was red , her breathing heavy , her eyes closed

He walked up near her , kneeled down beside her , putting his palm over her forehead

A frown appeared on his almost always relaxed face

Her temperature was high , dangerously high

'how stupid , going out like that in a damn storm of course she would be sick '

He looked one last time at her , before sighing ,and going downstairs again

He dialed Faust's number first, explained that they needed him there as soon as possible, then the school's administration to inform them that neither of them were attending , got hold up by the irritating speaker asking him if anything was wrong for him and his three cohabitant to skip the same day , a conversation he cooled down instantly, then hung up

People really were naggers

Returning to the ill's room he tuck off his jacket , sat down back on the wall facing the futon so as to watch out for any brusque change in the sleeping girl's state and waited for the door bell to announce the doctor's arrival

After about twenty minutes he began to feel inpatient , Tamao's state was not getting any better and there was no sign of the freaky healer

Getting up , he looked down at her face , it was even redder , for a moment it made him remember the way she used to blush uncontrollably as a kid , red cheeks suited her well but she looked way better when her eyes were open and smiling kindly ,WAIT , what the hell! , why was he pondering over her face ?

this was getting annoying he was not used to waiting like this , no one made him wait not his brother ,not even Anna pushed it further then he would take , Faust was sooooooooo going to get a piece of his mind when he gets here , if he gets here

He sighed, lift his head up, looking around, it was the first time he went in here, the room was similar to his in its overall composition , plus the sketches pined to the left most wall near the study desk were several music CDs laid in perfect order and minus the stars and fire personification he accorded to his own realm

He observed the multiple exposed drawing, she sure had made great progress, those things were excellent

A suffocated moan cut his attention bringing it back to her , she was getting worst by the second , Faust that lazy goth he was going to …

His thought were cut by the entrance bell ringing

"Finely" he dryly mumbled to himself

Opening the door he came face to face with the worried doctor and his smiling nurse/wife

And before he could even speak ,Faust bet him to the words

"I apologize there was traffic, where is she ?"

He sighed, the not-at-all-gay-make-up-addict was right, better cut to the chase, he led the two adults to where Tamao rested, watching arms folded over his chest as the doctor knelt down beside her, and his killer-sexy wife opened a heavy medical bag, taking out several suspiciously looking medical instruments

"What happened to her?" asked Faust not taking his gaze off his patient

"She got out in her night yukata during the storm "responded the longhaired teenager, even thinking about it made him annoyed

' such a stupid girl '

"I, see "Faust had that strangely serious expression on which only made Hao's exceptional frown deepen

Turning around to him , the tall blond didn't miss this , he had never seen the older Asakura show any sign of being bothered for anyone's state before , except once for his brother's

His purple lips curved into a reassuring smile that Hao found most irritating

"She'll be fine it's probably just a cold, no need to worry "

Why the heck was he speaking to him in such an intonation, he gave the man a blank look

"Do I seem worried to you ? " that was not a question as revealed the unusually cold voice he used ,but Faust wasn't bothered by it and continued to smile , getting up ,he nodded to the nurse who only nodded back then walked to the door indicating to the teen to follow him , which he uncertainly did

"Elisa will change her cloths " explained the German man after closing the door behind Hao 's passage

Hao stud backing up on the wall silently watching the entrance of the room , Faust still smiling beside him , he appeared to be remembering warm memories

A sigh , must everybody he knew be mentally deranged fools in some way or another ( Ps: if they are so is he / Hao : someone wanna' get toasted ? / my oh my , I thought it was Ren who had a bad temper :))

After a short while , Elisa came out ,and indicated for both of them to return

Faust tuck Tamao's fever , her pulse and more medical bullshit of that sort with the gentle assistant of the blonde nurse , then he broth out a couple of glass little containers filled with different liquids , mixed specific quantities together in an empty one then handed it to the still observing Asakura

"This is a special treatment it will help heal her right up

"Special ? "inquired the brunet eying it , that didn't sound too good , but he knew despite how strange his methods might be , Faust was quite capable in his profession , so he didn't doubt him more after he declared it was a medicine he personally developed and used

" Are you sure you don't want me to give you a check up as well ? " asked Faust for the third or fourth time as he and his lovely companion were about to step outside the inn

"No , I don't need it " he had already stated on multiple chances that his biological system was quite immune , heck he hadn't been sick since that time Yoh gave him chickenpox when they were both seven

"I understand, Tamao will most likely stay unconscious for quite a while since I gave her a good dose of sleeping piles "

' hopefully he didn't steal her spine on the way'

"take care and don't forget to get the other medicines I wrote to you , they are necessary "

As if he could

Useless goodbyes later, he returned to his initial sitting beside the pink haired patient previously changed into her long black dress ( you know the one she wore in funbari no uta )

He read the paper Faust had given him , how was he supposed to buy these things and leave her alone ?

A second later , he smirked , wasn't he Hao Asakura ? he had an army of adoring obeying servants /obsessed followers to get him anything he wanted , now the trick was to use a bit of his acting talents

Pease of cake !

Outside, two passionate lovers walked back to their private clinic, smiling fondly at each other

" they made me remember how I used to die each time you were sick"

" I remember, they are a cute pair those two "

" indeed ,but they are also quite stubborn " Faust smiled " let's go home Elisa my love "

**NV : I'm going to sleep , goodnight /good morning or whatever … see ' ya - yawn – **

**Ps : sorry for my many spelling and grammatical mistakes , I re-read my last chapters finally noticing my stupid gaps -_-; **


	18. kyaaaa HAO-SAMA !

**Tamao : O.O I'm still unconscious ?**

**NV: yep :)**

**Tamao : -sigh- at least I'm not paired up with HoroHoro-kun this time **

**Horo : WHAT ? you prefer HIM – points a finger at a smirking Hao – over ME **

**NV: don't be insulted I made her say it **

**Horo : humph …when will I have the spot light in this fic anyway ? **

**NV: the spot light ? …never , but you'll be appearing soon enough **

**Horo : …good thing she doesn't own shaman king **

**Hao/Tamao : that's what we said !**

Hao was quite satisfied, he was going to get the medicines Faust noted without having to step outside the front gate , hot looks and demented fan girls had their good points too ^^

He brought out his smart-phone , dialed one of the numbers in it , no need to say that he didn't have to wait long before hearing a screamed " KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, Hao-sama's calling me , I must be in heaven "

"Hey …" ups he forgot her name ,nah, it didn't matter ," I am home alone and I have a bit of a cold , I thought I'd ask you if you could buy me some stuff "

He managed to pull a sick voice yet maintain his masculine tone, oh man was he good or what?

"HAO-SAMA SICK ?! I'M COMING RIGHT UP "

"NO , wait … I need you to buy me medicine first "didn't this girl listen fully to him ? - Mental sigh -

"HAI HAO-SAMA, ANYTHING HAO-SAMA WANTS "

He smirked , Piece of cake

Ten minutes later the door bell rang again

Sure fast, especially considering the girl lived at least an hour away of the onsen , what can you say ? Hao's powers are frightening

He smiled charmingly at them , for there was three fan-girls for the price of the one he summoned , the Hano siblings three of his most obsessed adorers

"GOOD MORNING HAO-SAMA I BOUGHT YOUR MEDICINE " yelled the over exited one he addressed on phone

"THIS CAN'T BE A GOOD MORNING IF HAO-SAMA IS SICK SILLY," grounded her sister taping her on the head "… just ignore her Hao-sama I prepared chicken soup it'll heal you right up" ( believe me the smile she gave him was blood shilling , good thing the guy saw worst or even him would have had a heart attack )

"But Hao-sama you don't look ill at all ?" commented the third

'damn , she … '

He didn't even have the time to continue on his thought, that her sisters had smacked her hard on the head

"HAO-SAMA ALWAYS LOOK GREAT NO MATTER WHAT YOU BAKA"

"Oh yes , sorry Hao-sama " rectified the apparently sanest one of the trio with a shy voice

"O.K , thank you girls "

He snatched the medicine accepted the container of boiling hot soup , smiled again and was about to shut the door when the crazy-grin one interjected putting her foot in the way , he looked at her blankly, she was giving him a perverted psychopathic grin

"Hao-sama you said you were alone ,right? Let us come in …we'll take great care of you "

( o.O now if this was anyone other than Hao , the look in those three pairs of eyes would have made him gulp his heart in , luckily it is the HAO we're talking about here )

He stud tall , got out to them paying attention to close the door behind him , smirked that smirk of his , which seemed to weaken the perverted trio's stability since they started drooling like dogs in front of a juicy piece of meat , he walked toward the youngest and frailest one , tuck one of her bangs in his fingers , while she totally forgot how to breath , and her sisters jaws dropped to the ground

He smirked , looking down at the poor thing with purposely burning orbs

"How about you come in alone instead ? " he suggested in a repulsively seductive voice which finished off his victim

The two others turned like O.O , then in a heartbeat leapt toward her , like wild animals protecting their territory , taking the first beating and insult she was too mesmerized by the great Hao-sama to react , but when she felt her right arm brake the girl seemed to regain some survival instinct and ran like the wind in a random direction screaming " I'LL BE BACK **MY** HAO-SAMA " , her probable future murderers hot on her heals

All the while the object of their united desire , watched amused as if in the movies , really he was just too gifted for his own good

He entered his house ( Anna: HIS HOUSE?!/ oooh shut up/Anna : O.o ) , examined the so called "chicken soup " which smelled more like disgustingly extra-sweet feminine perfume

Another love potion he deduced ,those things never worked ,but caused horrible constipation that usually lasted a whole freaking week ( can you imagine the great Hao Asakura struggling to get shit out of his system , that would be …reassuring :)/ Hao : -_-'')

He spilled the "soup" in the kitchen's sink, got a glass of water in his way and returned near the unconscious Tamao

What did Faust say ? A pill of this, two of that, for now and after diner

DINER ! …it's fine, he'll just call Ryu then, the guy was in the business part of the onsen taking care of its clients, bringing some food to them would not bother him (not that he would've cared if it did) the only problem was to get him to leave them alone after he do, he was not REPEAT: WAS NOT going to listen to Ryu wail all night long on how his dear miss Tamao was sick

Reasoning to take care of the problems one by one ,he gently placed his hand Under her neck , remarking that her fever still didn't go down , he opened her mouth with his index putting the pills in , bringing the filled glass to her pale lips , then carefully helping her swallow them

Laying her back down , he couldn't help but feel a bit strange in this soulless quietness around them , even in normal situations they weren't the two most talkative individual ,especially with each other ,so why was it weird to see her away fragile in the void of fever's unconsciousness

He pushed away a stoke of hair that fell upon her face , frowned

"So weak, so small, do you love him so much that you would risk your own health? Was it worth it? " He whispered bitterly despite his attempt to hide it , but hide it from who ? She couldn't hear him, no one could, from himself then? Why the hell would he be bitter about her damn infatuation with his twin? He didn't care about miss Tamamura's feelings, he didn't care about 'feelings' full stop.

His cell phone rang in his pocket, bringing him back to reality

Who the hell was it that was going to annoy him this time?

**NV: wow, short chapter well compared to what I'm used to, I hope I didn't make Hao OOC … see 'ya;) **


	19. I'm in a hurry

**NV : this chapter might be a bit hasty since I wrote it on a hurry ,you see I'm taking my exams T.T…BTW anyone who tells me high school isn't an earthly hell shall be forever haunted by the souls of all those who committed suicide during it ^^ **

" HAO-SAMA IS THIS YOU? "

"Yes mach you're the one who called me remember ?" answered Hao rolling his eyes to the ceiling

"RIGHT! IT'S THAT ANNOYING BRAT LYSERG "

"who are you calling brat?" came the young English man backfire

"SHUT UP I'AM TALKING TO HAO-SAMA HERE ANYWAY HAO-SAMA THE GREEN BRAT INSISTED …"

"Could you stop yelling first ?" he demanded in an annoyed tone , he really thought hearing her screaming any more would turn him deaf

"AH I' M SORRY WAIT A SEC …"

'what's going on again ?'

"I am sorry but we were in the gym , that old hag Goldva gave us the permission to get out of class even earlier today since the preparation for the party were going so slow , it's a freaking apocalypse down there Horohoro ,Chocolove and Pilika where fighting over something and Ren cut in and then he and Horo ….blah bla blah bla …and Jeanne then …blah blah bla …"

Hao face palmed himself , her every word, no alphabetic letter was a dose of morphine to his cerebral system

' can't she shut up ?' he wished to himself

"CUT TO THE CHASE FOR GOD'S SAKE " came Lyserg desperate voice from the background

Hao mentally noted to offer the boy a break off his teasing treatment he deserved it

"Oh right , anyway broccoli head told me to ask you if Tamao was alright "

'my ,my , mister green was worried about miss pink how lovely'

"She's sick"

"Sick ? why what …."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SICK ? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER HAO? "Screamed Lyserg after snatching mach's cell-phone out of her hand

-Sigh - why was it that people always thought it was him who was at fault even in something such as sickness ?

" Well I invented a killer virus ,to finish humanity off and tested it on her " he answered sarcastically " what did you think I did ?"

"YOU…-sigh- just stand still don't do anything to make her state worst we're coming"

And that was it ,Lyserg hung up , Hao placed his phone on the floor beside him ,turned a blank gaze toward the sleeping patient

"Happy now miss Tamamura ?" he mumbled," the English prince is coming for the rescue "

' maybe he'll finally free you '

He got up , went to the living room , lit the TV on a random channel , fifteen minutes later Lyserg ,Mach, Ren and Jeanne were there

"You just couldn't keep your mouth shut ? "

"Jeanne is Tamao's friend it's only normal for her to come see her " coldly answered broccoli-head

Hao turned a mocking stare that said " and you?" to the other male new-comer( who by the way was pretty much sticking like a guard beside his team's leader ) but Ren only folded his arms over his chest and turned his head the other way avoiding his smirking face

"Where is she ?" asked Jeanne looking honestly worried about her friend

"In her room "he answered bored

Instantly Jeanne went up toward the said room ,followed by Lyserg and Ren , only Mach stayed down with Hao

"What happened to her I've never seen her sick before ? " asked the orange headed girl a bit intrigued on how the frightening Tamamura might actually look like knowing her kind smile can't suddenly be replaced by a killer's aura

"She acted dumb and had to suffer the consequences "he answered throwing his body's weight on the sofa remote in hand then switching the channel

She looked at him for a moment not really understanding how he could be so cold about it , he never seemed cold before and Tamao was practically a part of his family they grew up together in the end

" I'll go check on her " she declared in an unusual shy voice then joined the other's to their classmate's chamber

Hao stared emptily at the moving pictures on the screen waiting for the visitors' departure

A long hellish while later …

" I am staying here " declared the albino going down the stairs and heading toward him followed by the three left

He slowly turned a dull face to her

" to take care of Tamao-chan " added she as if to clarify her intentions ,which caused him to smirk interiorly

" I am staying too "firmly interfered Ren, standing beside the girl , this time his smirk reached the surface

" really ?" he inquired maliciously " well , all the onsen's rooms are rented for the week and Anna's room is made off-limits so you two will have to chare Yoh's " he explained nonchalantly causing both young people to turn bright red especially Ren since his anger added to his embarrassment " or would little Jeanne prefer to chare mine ? I wonder how Blondie would react ?"

" I'll just stay in with Tamao-chan, it would be best so that I tend for her at night when needed " responded the albino regaining her normal cheek color

" NO!, you could get sick as well ! " quickly interfered her bodyguard …no that would be Marco … scratch it , I meant her concerned caring secretly charmed fellow group member

Jeanne blinked angelically, while Hao and Mach both felt utterly amused as for lyserg , he kept bizarrely …serious

" it's …it's just that we need you to end our stupid preparations ,you getting sick would be inconvenient right now "hastily added a spiked tomato usually referred to as Ren Tao noticing that his previous intonation was way too revealing

" Ren-san is right " approved Lyserg " Tamao-san being sick is already bad enough , adding to it wouldn't help "

" I appreciate your concern " gently responded Jeanne " both of you " she added turning to Ren " but Tamao-chan is my friend I am not going to let her alone while she's sick "

The arguments and suggestion kept popping out , sounding to a specific someone more like: "blah blah ,blah blah , blah bla …"

"they might want to help her but they'll probably end up boring me till I snap ' thought Hao watching the ridicule conversation

" I would have stayed " said the green haired boy " but headmaster Goldva doesn't allow us to spend nights out , if I did he'd call my parents and I 'd have to hear them reprobate me all the way from London " he explained depressed

" afraid mommy and daddy would ground you sissy ?" teased mach starting a new round of insults between her and her teammate which caused Ren to start shouting how baka they were ,consequently making Jeanne begin with her crappy lecturing ( which is quite hypocrite if you asked me / Jeanne : you do not see the light of god's words 0: ( / 1- the screen is blinding me so I 'm pretty much enlightened at the moment 2- not christen 3- your words not god's dear / Jeanne : really ? :( )

Hao stared blankly at them for a moment that he felt everlasting then got up walked past the four who too busy with their heating up chitchat didn't notice him heading toward the exit door behind them

He opened it , cleared his throat to get their attention

Yet they kept on going

Cleared his throat again

Nothing

" GET THE FUCK OUT " he screamed on top of his lungs finally pissed

Now THAT was enough to shut them all up as they turned open jaws and widened eyes toward him

Mach was the first to obey , followed by Ren , a hesitant Lyserg and last but not least Jeanne who on the door step opened her mouth to say something but only met the slammed door as an interlocutory

" that bastard I knew I should have brought my gun " muttered Lyserg

" didn't you send it back to your father yet ?" asked Jeanne in an intonation that declared her disappointment

" as if that thing ever had any effect " added Mach puffing at him

Even due he hated to admit it she actually had a point

" I hope Tamao-chan gets well soon " whished the albino instinctively touching her crucifix

" you all saw the meds near her bed , Hao apparently handles it , I don't think there is any need to worry "declared Ren going into his black limo after Bason opened it to him

" aren't you coming ? " added he in his neighbor's intention who barely nodded , smiled at the two left then followed him in

The Anglophones watched the retrieving back of the vehicle as it disappeared in the horizon

" they could have offered to give us a rid " said mach pouting arms across her chest

But her comment was met with an irritating silence turning her gaze to the teenager beside her , she saw him frowning looking toward the entrance of the inn

' such a pussy '

" if you're so much worried about her you could have faced him and stayed " she declared annoyed startling him

" what ?" he didn't quite hear her and looked a bit confused

She puffed

" it's obvious you love her "

His eyes widened as a blush crept to his cheeks

" what the hell are you talking about? I don't love her she's only a good friend " he baffled

" you're really a bad liar sissy " she spat turning on her heals " each time you see her your face turn as pink as her hair "

Now Lyserg really didn't get it

' was she talking about Tamao -chan, does it mean she wasn't mentioning …'

He sighed in relief

" I don't love Tamao-san ,not in that way at least " he declared security returning to his voice

" sure" her tone was deeply sarcastic , irritating him , each time he was with this girl he wanted to bang his head repeatedly on the wall , she was overly energetic , childish , disrespectful a real trouble-maker who played tricks on everybody especially him ,plus she liked Hao definitely a pain

" I don't " he repeated " Tamao-san is a good friend , I confided her in something very personal about me "

His words seemed to interest her since she stared at him for a while , tuck a step in his direction , her purple eyes aiming directly into his emerald, and he surprised himself thinking that they were quite beautiful when not used to glare at him , suddenly he felt a bit of sadness rise in them , her face lost its bratty appeal to an expression of friendly understanding making her appear more… mature

" I thought so , bad luck " she smiled at him which caused his throat to suddenly turn dry not getting what she meant by it , he wanted to break their eye contact this was starting to make him uncomfortable , heck what was wrong with him ?!

He glanced at his watch

" we...we should be going or else principal Goldva will be upset when we reach school " said he taking the lead

Mach followed , she had made a realization today

The sissy act , his gentleness , his elegant and kind attitude , the fact that he was girly yet somehow handsome , his close relationship with the French girl and Tamao all the pieces about broccoli-head finally fell into place

' something personal huh? , as if he could be any clearer '

She sighed

She had figured him out today, Lyserg was definitely : 100% GAY

**NV: such a revelation – insert hysterical laughing here please –**

**Choco : GAY , GAY ,GAY , LYSERG IS GAY **

**Lyserg : -_-;**

**NV: not really , but good try :) **

**Hao : -smirk - so green-head was finally revealed to the public **

**NV: repeat "not really " and you should be careful who knows who's turn shall be next MUAHAHAHAHA …**

**Hao: … thank god she doesn't own SK **

**NV : well… I better go study for my science exam before my mother kills me ^^;… it might take some time but see ya ;) **


	20. you're going south

**NV : exams are over people ! – flying in the air with newly gained wings – **

**Yoh : …btw she doesn't own shaman king. **

**Hao : if she did it would've been lame and shaman king is NOT lame. **

**NV: -still flying –I'm so happy!**

Hao sighed. He had gotten rid off the joyfully annoying assembly three hours ago , but since a problem never comes alone , he was struck with a tiny bity of a detail which had skipped his mind.

He had a date.

The girl he was supposed to meet was a symbol of…how to say it? perfection , she was twenty years old which meant four years his elder , a red-haired buety with purple glittering eyes , a slim very inviting figure and to turn any guy out of his mind a pair of knockers that could've been used to turn the cold war into a pretty actively hot one.

What ? he's a guy , it's not perverted to notice just sadly natural. Some attributes in women can easily turn a dude's brain switch off and another lower switch ,which will not be mentioned here , completely " straight " on.

Now a question beeped inside his head ,a hot chick totally appropriate to initiate a life time of conquests and ecstasy with or …miss Tamamura?

Why was he even pondering over it ?! really who would have chosen to stay ,get bored to death watching a sleeping girl when he had an opportunity to get extra lucky tonight ?

-Smirk-

The decision was made.

He'll just call pompadour-freak to watch over miss Tamamura in his absence , letting the "pedophile " with her while she was unconscious didn't worry him. Ryu would never try anything stupid. One, since that would get him literally killed and two …for the simple reason that he genuinely cared about her.

Miss Tamamura seemed to trigger warm emotions inside others' hearts …not inside of his evidently.

He dialed the freak's number but only heard the annoying vocal messenger " yeah lucky one you just reached the king chick-magnet love god the one and only... Ryu! I'm off for the moment so if you're a cute babe leave your number after the beep and I'll call you right back , love! "

His eye-brow twitched. Anna leaves for one single day and that ass-hole takes the opportunity to leave his job in the onsen and do god knows what while HE needed him in order to get off.

-sigh-

Nah , it was all good. Tamao was soon to wake up anyway , he'll just leave a note for her to read indicating that she'll have to take her medicines after a good night meal , then go out to get his prize.

Satisfied , he opened her desk 's first drawer to fetch what was necessary however instead of pens and papers he found stashed sketchbooks of different sizes and cover colors.

Out of curiosity , he chose one , looked through it.

Landscapes , animals , people it was filled with images ,moments of life but as he could see it seemed that each drawing was represented from an outsider's point of view...a neutral observer. His eyes turned blank , was it possible that his past contradiction had that as a common point with him ? was she …lonely ?

He looked again at her sleeping figure. Her breathing was soft , she seemed frail ,delicate , lonely ? perhaps she was. Behind kindness and hidden feelings maybe as parallel as they used to be, as they are, they still had something common and as deep as loneliness.

Why would he care ? he had to go wear something a bit more elegant than a t-shirt and a pair of washed up jeans not that he didn't look deadly in them , but it didn't really suit a date.

He returned it , opened the second drawer hoping to find the damn pen to scribble the equally damned note and get rid of it. For some reason each second he spent here made him want to stay … maybe he really got sick. Maybe something got into his brain or else why would he doubt himself like this ? he never had any doubts, that was one of the wonders of being Hao Asakura; doubts never corrupted his vision especially when it came to making such an obvious choice

I mean getting laid or getting bored stiff ?could a guy have it any easier?

Nope , easy choice ,easy gig …so why was he questioning it?

Suddenly something cought his attention it was a very small sized pink sketchbook which was apparently tick and quite aged, he stuck it out. He had seen it before , back in the days this thing never left her.

opening it , he smirked. The fist portrayal was of his brother probably when he was twelve , definitely these were from miss Tamamura's shy blushing faze. He flipped throught the pages.

Yoh ,Yoh, Yoh, Mikihisa, Yoh, Yoh , Anna, Kino and Yohmai , Yoh, Yoh ,Yoh , another one of Yoh , Anna , Yoh , Yoh , Yoh , uh this one was of Matamune his pet cat , Yoh, Yoh , Yoh , Mikihisa , Yoh, Yoh, Anna, Yoh.

Man ,she really had a thing for his brother ..." love". Seeing this he realized she actually made great progress in fighting off her feelings toward his twin.

The only two persons missing where her and him. She did not include herself in the world where his brother's grin ruled and which she reflected on the once blank papers nor did she include him. It was predictable, he was a stranger to it. When they were younger he was always isolated in his room or glancing at the sky from above the roofs , only interacting with the one who unknowingly captured her heart. He didn't have his place in their world , and didn't wish to. What was the world worth when the sun had already perished? When his mother left.

He continued observing how the technicality and details evolved with each drawing. Several illustration later he came to its final pages , stopped abruptly at the one before last , it was him , sketched , his body and long bangs composed of swift and delicate lines , he had his back to the artiste, sitting Under a sakura tree which now shadowed two graves instead of the one on her sketch , the sun was sitting in the horizon and Matamune was asleep beside him , this …

He looked at her

This was from the day before he went to the states , he remembered he had secretly crept to his mother's grave wanting to spend his last night in Japan near her...so she was there... she saw him. Did she hear what he said back then ? the things he confided to his lost mother?

No , she couldn't.

Turning the last page , he saw a beautiful drawing of his brother and Anna they were hand in hand, Yoh grinning widely while the blonde stud as cold as usual. The lines were a bit shaky and a single tear drop had dried over it. He observed the date marked in its corner ,it was that of Anna's and Yoh's official engagement missed on that one.

He closed it , putting it back into place , stared at her one last time. The sun was sitting reflecting its reddened rays on her toneless skin given her pink locks an almost fiery appeal...she really should draw herself too , maybe she'll realize her potential.

A frown, a sigh.

He left her room , got down stairs, it was already 6 pm , time to start making dinner.

Shit! what's gotten into him ?!

O.O.O.O.O

Tamao slowly opened her eyes feeling dizzy. She fingered her forehead noticing her fever.

She must have gotten sick after going out Under the rain , honestly what the heck went through her mind? if Hao didn't magically show up she would've probably traveled aimlessly all nightlong .

she looked down at herself; there were some medicines and a weird flacon of bizarrely colored liquid but what most caught her attention was the fact that she was wearing different cloths , which caused her to instantly feel uneasy.

'No, Hao wouldn't have changed them… he wouldn't, must be some kind of explanation '

Realizing she was being ungrateful she pushed the thought off her mind. He must have been the one who brought all these stuff , since no one else was there.

She sighed 'great , just great '

standing up somewhat difficultly , she folded the used sheets putting them at the bottom end of her futon, opened the door to get out of her room when a strange smell reached her seemed …familiar , negatively familiar…it was …it was …

' Oh no! , please kami-sama! please no! '

She rushed , practically skipping down the staircase. The first floor was filled with a suffocating tick smoke.

' shit! he did it again !'

Runing toward the emergency safe Anna prepared after the last time they were in this situation , she tuck out the fire-extinguisher , paced to the kitchen where as expected she found the stove throwing up flames like a freaking inferno threatening to turn the inn into ashes. Directing the extinguisher's tube toward it , she fired …metaphorically speaking

The flames died out , she sighed clutching to her hastily beating chest.

" that was supposed to be dinner "

She turned around to see the older Asakura twin looking blankly at her, wearing a pink apron around his waist , his long hair pulled up into a high ponytail leaving few messy strands falling down his face.

She blinked " are you kidding me?"

" what ? doesn't it suit me ? "

She opened her mouth but nothing came out , the voile of smoke around them had gotten much clearer allowing her to consider just in how much of a mess the kitchen was in. If anyone had stepped in it the first thought the sight of it would produce would've been that an army rushed in ,turned everything upside down then left to go battle in hell. But nope , it was just the way things were around here when by mischance Hao decided to touch anything culinary-related.

She gawked some more as he walked by her to go get whatever it was he was preparing.

"Faust and elisa came ,she's the one who changed your cloths by the way "he casually informed taking a heavy feeling off her back "You'll have to take the meds that are in your room for at least a week ,the doses are written on them. You should also call Jeanne she came along with Ren ,Lyserg and Mach yesterday , she was pretty worried " he added slightly smirking , the albino's visit had certainly been amusing , annoying yet amusing.

"Jeanne came here ? "asked she surprised , she usually had such a hard time getting her to.

"Yep , the green elf had a problem zipping it all of a sudden "

She watched him , that persisting smirk on. A moment of silent fell between them before she finally decided to break it.

"Thank you "

He turned to her , face mimicking the incomprehension of an innocent child , she seemed uneasy.

"No need , but you do owe me a date and I'm going to get it one day or another "

flinshing her eyes widdned "NANI?! "

" relax " he got a plate out of the now darkened stove. The "dish " in it was once a chicken , once, before his skilled hands turned it into hard carbon "because of you I missed on my date , a quite promising date if I may add …but since I'm quite merciful…"- a smirk not a good sign- " I'll forgive your wrong doing if you do me a few favors "

She coked an eye-brow at him " what kind of favors ?"

And into the garbage goes the poor volatile " I'll tell you when the time comes …unless you prefer the date? "

Her cheeks turned bright red ' damn smirk ! '

" No! I'll …let's just clean this up " she sweat-dropped " or else Anna-san will … " –gulp- no need to think about it, no, no thinking about the apocalypse.

He blinked ' ah , yeah Anna might be a problem indeed '

O.O.O

Scrubbing the dishes he completely ruined Hao growled " to think I could be having sex right now …"-sigh-

The plate in poor Tamao's hands shattered into two halves , if she had a high fever previously ,now she was a freaking volcano.

When were Anna and Yoh coming back again ?


	21. trick or threat ?

**NV: ok I just wanna say sorry anyone who cares for the delay , also for the upcoming foolishness and the load of mistakes this chapter is sure to contain since I didn't even check it once , I just hope it isn't as bad as I think it is ^^' **

**O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O**

Mach absentmindedly manipulated her electric base , accompanying a singing Tamao on the mic and a dazzled Lyserg playing the piano , it was the first time either of them heard their team mate's voice and the English boy seemed utterly surprised to discover the girl's undeniable gift , even Mach had to admit her voice was mesmerizing but that was not what was on her mind at the moment , the subject of her preoccupation was : what to do when someone who happened to make butterflies tickle your stomach each time you saw him turned out to be into the other gender ?

Glancing at the green-haired pianist , she frowned the answer was evident -shoot every and each single one of those damn little bugs down!

She grinned picturing green butterflies with Lyserg's head rushing away screaming like mad as she aimed at them wearing a military uniform ,a bazooka in hand , laughing like one of the insane villains in the movies.

One Lyserg butterfly down , two Lyserg butterflies down , three , four , ten , twenty...

'YES, YES DIE DAMN SISSY!'

Her demented grin widened even more almost crushing her face imagining him spilling his guts out.

" YOU'RE GOING DOWN LITTLE GREEN BUGS OF HELL, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAhahaha…ha …ha" she stopped seeing the faces of the other two , they were looking at her with widened eyes, her fantasy's victim seemed even… how to put it ? frightened as if going to wet his pants.

'Ups, I said that out loud '

" are you alright Mach ?" asked the magenta haired singer coking an eyebrow at her seemingly worried.

" yeah ,yeah nothing to worry about that was just a …" damn what to say? " it was just a song I've been working on I named it 'BUGS OF HELL' you like ? " she grinned cheerfully, happy she came up with such a genius excuse.

" I …well, I don't really know " Tamao had a perturbed expression on glancing at the still shocked Lyserg " you were really into it "

Suddenly the door of the theater was pushed open and Hao came in smirking joyfully as usual hands in his pockets. his tour to observe the other groups work was quite entertaining and he was in a very good mood especially after seeing poor manta go crazy having to do the job of three.

' thank god Hao-sama came , things were starting to get awkward ' the orange haired bassist aka butterfly sniper sighed relieved to get out of the spot light

" how disappointing my group is the only one doing poorly" a happy grin on a handsome face who would've thought it belong to a demon-like figure.

" you're the one doing nothing " yep, Lyserg finally got out of his traumatized trance.

" I assure you I'm quite busy broccoli-head on the opposite of you three since you still have nothing "

" it's not our fault Hao-sama! " interfered mach " Tamao's the one who didn't write the song yet "

The mentioned pink-haired member stared at her classmate a stare that caused her to gulp , as if Hao was not already demanding enough.

She sighed turning to the smirking new comer " I'm working on it "

A nonchalant shrug " you'll have to work harder miss Tamamura there is a little more than a week before the party "

' damn smirk ' oh well, she'll just have to do it, better than having to put up with Hao's teasing and besides he had a point , the fatal date was nearing they had to practice something good before performing live in front of all their school's students, it was only logical.

But Lyserg ,who forgot any logic whenever Hao showed up ,was not about to let his long time enemy order them around.

" she's been sick , you can't expect her or any of us to do as you wish ,who do you think you are dammit?! "

He came closer to the long-haired teen , jaws oppressed by his clear anger an anger which only rose perceiving the clear smirk never leaving the fan girls' magnet's face but which was also completely ignored by Mach who only focused on how close the two male group members were , on how near their faces were...

She ticked , eye-brow twitching " NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HAO-SAMA TOO " leaping she clutched to the said guy's neck bringing both of them down to their knees.

Hao turned blue , gasping while trying to escape her grip" I …I ca-can't …bre-breath "

Tamao knelt beside them aiming to help her cohabitant out " Mach stop it you're killing him !"but wait a minute why was she worried about Hao ?

" NO! NO! NO! I WON'T LET SISSY TURN HAO-SAMA GAY AS WELL , I WON'T TAKE IT! "

Tamao stopped eyes widening , the said sissy who was previously laughing out loud choked , while Hao totally dismissed his life-endangering state to chuckle his heart out

Mach blinked ' did I say something wrong ?'

**O.O.O.O.O.O.O**

Lyserg paced , walking in circles in his and Chocolove's chamber , his room-mate was laying on his bed calmly trying to read his newly bought book : jokes for dummies ( sorry Choco /Choco: T-T ) but found it hard to concentrate on his reading while he puffed ,mumbling things like : do I look gay ? / that girl is nuts / she must be taking some kind of drugs' cocktail or something / seriously HAO! why would someone gay go for that guy? he's practically a girl !

Slamming his book shut , the American sighed " why don't you just go talk to her man ?"

Instantly the English boy froze in his spot , turning a blank gaze toward that who became his best yet annoying friend " why would I want to talk to that mad girl ?"

Chocolove grinned playing girlishly with his afro's curls " well I don't know maybe cause' you liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike her "

Flushing red , Lyserg grabbed his pillow throwing it hard on the other teenager's face " you're getting worst this book isn't helping you at all , how could you say I 'like' her ? she …she's …she thought I was into boys for god's sake ! "

" Yeah , hihihi …You're kinda girlish, you know" afraid that the next thing thrown at him could be much worst Chocolove stopped his snickering , good thing since a 'borrowed' gun was yelling for its 'borrower' to use it.

A sigh , the green-haired teen drifted his eyes toward the window getting closer to it just enough to see the night's full moon " you know who's the one I've loved for so long so there's no need to bug me about it "

Chocolove really hated when Lyserg went all dramatic and sinister , it killed off the mood and always made him look so damn uptight " you're not in love with Jeanne , she fascinates you, it's an infatuation kinda like how Tamao used to feel about Yoh " he grinned " and beside I think Mach like's you too "

" You think so ?" a blush " I mean I …I don't like her ! she's , she's such a …a …AH I DON'T KNOW ! " he threw his body over his privet bed , exhaled , it was true enough that girl really did something to mess his brain up, just talking about her and feelings such as "love" in the same conversation made him feel all funny.

The comedian wannabe jumped up cheerfully " cool off dude , want me to tell you a good joke? it's a really good one ,brand new "

" I'm going "

Just like that the English boy left merely putting one of his friend's tick leather jackets over his light top before heading out to muse some more.

" but what about my joke ? " moping Choco laid back returning to his initial position " I should really talk to Pirika too …but Horo'll kill me "

He grinned ' I need another book' he searched , found his satisfaction : how to confess to a girl for dummies ( Choco: TT-TT )

O.O.O.O.O.O

Lyserg sighed , walking purposelessly around the school's vast park , getting some fresh air was surely going to do him good , he just had to stop thinking about that devilish girl and her absurd logic.

Now , one question : how come he was standing like a statue before the girls' dorms and directly Under her window ?

' What the hell is wrong with me ?! '

He turned ready to take the opposite direction when the dorm's heavy metallic door opened behind him , letting someone get view of his unmistakably green-head.

" what are you doing here ?"

The bratty menacing voice rang in the air , he sighed , could he be any more miserable at the moment ? yes , if a specific Asakura devil was present luckily he was not in hell yet ,so Hao was not about to erupt out of the mist …at least that's what he hoped.

He turned facing his frowning orange-haired team-mate. She was wearing an orange coat over a black top and a pumpkin-patterned pair of baggy pants.

' she looks cute ' he blushed mentally hitting the back of his head, since when did he start thinking such things?

" I could ask you the same thing "

Mach pouted she was not about to tell him that Mari practically kicked her out bored out of hearing her talk angrily on how much of a little weird annoying sissy he was.

" just going for a walk " mumbled she ,coming near him.

"me too "

They walked along silently enough , enjoying the calm breeze , looking down he glanced shyly at her for the moment peaceful face.

" I'm not gay by the way "

" I know ,Tamao told me "

Blinking, he stopped in his tracks " Tamao-san told you ? I mean... everything? "

She exhaled " nope , but I figured the rest on my own , if you aren't actually gay …"

" I'm not ! " he repeated hopefully for the last time

" Yeah ,yeah I get it already " a sigh " so that leaves us with Jeanne, huh? "

" Yeah " his features saddened , softening in that way which irritated her most , she frowned.

"can't you stop that ?"

Regaining a normal expression he blinked **"**what ?"

what? was he actually serious ? Wasn't he supposed to have detective blood running through his veins? How could he still ask her "what?" so unknowingly? , she puffed **" **you don't understand anything! "

"I do , I mean it's just that I… " what was he supposed to say ? she couldn't really like him , right ? Choco was undoubtedly wrong as usual , she couldn't like him in that way... it was impossible.

"Then man up, and stop being such a sissy " her purple orbs locked with his , sending a sort of chill down his spine , did she intimidate him now ? he looked away breaking their eyes contact.

"I'll stop when you stop acting like a childish brat " he couldn't let her think she got him on a disadvantage that would be too dangerous.

Offended , the pumpkin girl came even closer to him , standing on her tiptoes , face inches away of his , in an expression she wanted menacing but which he found most adorable **"**Who are you calling childish brat , broccoli-head? "

He smiled "You who else? "

"I SWEAR I'LL… "…

Mach couldn't continue her sentence, too surprised by the gentle kiss on the cheek he suddenly gave her.

"What was that? "She asked blushing slightly but far from matching the boy's own shade

Scratching his neck in a very yoh-ich way he smiled somewhat embarrassed "Trying to man up ,of course " to be truthful he didn't actually realize what he did , he just felt a strange need to kiss her and he was much more comfortable with an innocent kiss on the cheek than anything else.

She frowned "You call that manning up " a smirk "let me show you instead "

grabbing his jacket's collar ,she attracted him toward her , placed her lips over his , purple eyes closed ,while his widened.

' wh-what …I…she …ARGH !'

Mach had just purposely stepped over his foot, opening his mouth to yell something out ,he couldn't , for it was quickly submerged with something sweet yet somewhat spicy ,his emerald eyes instantly reached a record width.

She was …she was …but this …it was inappropriate …they were classmates …and he liked …who did he like again? Oh yeah Jeanne …it was unfair …and …who cares?! it was so good! all he had to do was loosen up ,easy enough to do when a guy's head felt as if over the clouds.

But to his unrevealed displease their lips soon disconnected well , not that soon since the delusional state lasted for a couple of minutes ,leaving him with a freaking prize worthy tomato-like face ,while his orange haired team-mate grinned proudly at his sight.

"What…wh-what was that? "

"That was the way to man up and make a proper move "

She walked away in her childish demeanor to always look as if going to give a hard lesson to no one in particular, but just before disappearing out of his vision , turned around ,grinning

" you can consider it as a trick or as a threat …you choose broccoli-head "

And so broccoli-head was left to gawk in his night-wears Under a mocking moon's forgotten presence.

Poor guy, he didn't know it was Halloween tonight.

One thing for sure , Halloween just made it to the top of his favorite holidays' list.

**O.O.O.O.O.O.O**

**NV: - banging her head on the wall – damn kissing scene I screwed it up again and it tuck me so much time to write too T.T **

**Tamao : please, stop. You're making the ground shake down here in the abyss. **

**NV: you're in my head. **

**Hao: that's the point, genius. Anyway you better make ours good , I'm a great kisser don't go around ruining my reputation U.U **

**Tamao : ours** **?! – kills herself - - comes back as a ghost – NOOOOOOOOOOO…! **

**Hao : my ,my did you just find out we're stuck here ? –smirk- **

**Tamao : T.T **

**NV: - continues to bang her head on the same innocent wall that's starting to crack – it's so …cliché , I hate myself. **


	22. brotherhood,drugs and a pony

**DISCLAIM: I do not own shaman king , surprising ne?**

A cab stopped Under the fainting light of a streetlamp , the left passengers' seat's door was flung open allowing a slim pale leg to come out of the locomotive, wooden scandals touched the ground silencing the overall surroundings , a young woman appeared in the spotlight, her red bandana flickering with the night's breeze , the taxi driver zoomed away unable to take a second more near the young lady who had the guts to negotiate his pay down, while a lucky brunette young man stud whimpering behind her straight back , she slowly removed her sunglasses which were absolutely unnecessary considering it was already past seven pm , ember eyes looking ahead as if cutting the air , if you believe in the unseen just imagine the load of Onis , ghost , angels and whatever else running into the distance yelling the deadliest announcement

The devil 's back baby! ( ok …that was …weird ^^')

Golden locks waving with the breeze , she moved , stepping through the front yard of the house she left in another's custody for over a week now , she could hear another pair of feet difficultly following her ,that good-for-nothing fiancé of hers had problems carrying their few belongings , what a wimp?!

She sighed , facing the front door to her beloved territory , then with a devilish grin got ready to kick it open, when the door was naturally swung revealing a weird hairy dude with damned hairdo grinning to the couple , the thing is that unable to stop her kick in time or simply unwilling to , the lady's foot was firmly planted into a very privet part of the man's body bringing him down to his knees with an audible whimper , causing the boy behind her to gulp his heart in sympathizing with his poor fellow

"he-hello A-Anna-sama " greeted the forever paralyzed guy at her feet , fainting in the spot

Staring down at him then at her terrorized companion , she folded her arms over her somewhat more developed chest ' do I have to be surrounded by losers? '

Inhaling then exhaling to calm herself down ,she interred her home sweet home like a commander would enter a battle field , stopping when reaching the living room where she spotted a replica of her own personal loser/slave sitting Indian-style on her couch , watching her TV , breathing her oxygen as if he owned the place (I just wanna say it **is **the **Asakura **residence / Anna: shut it or I'll kill ya!/ -_-you're psycho )

The impudent replica turned a dull face toward her , lips curving into a despicable grin " yo otoutou , dear Anna "

"aniki ! " Yoh's eyes grew pleading as his arms and knees trembled

The called person had gotten back to staring emptily at the animated screen ,TV …wonders of devilish human evolution , gee that thing was wiping his brain clean but oh well it wasn't as if he had anything else important to do …no , nothing since he charged miss Tamamura with his different researches , homework and the unsustainable duty to write back to all his fan-mail , so he was pretty much as carefree as a sane guy could be , which didn't seem the be the case of his usually laid-back other half who was dreadfully pale , a week alone with their grand-parents and a pregnant ice-queen he was lucky to be alive!

" what otoutou ?"

Too late , the poor guy had already crumbled down , eyes bugged out, laying flat on his face , corps partially covered by the tons of luggage he was previously carrying

A sigh ' such a wimp good-for-nothing fiancé '

" ah , you finally arrived " Tamao had just entered , pink locks pulled up into a long ponytail wearing a white apron around her waist , hands stuffed in a pair of red mittens " did you see Ryu-san? he was helping me with dinner then suddenly disappeared "

A distant whimper answered her question , she sweat dropped ' things got back to normal "

" i want brownies for desert " declared Anna returning to her dictator role , throwing her filled body over the couch beside her future brother-in-law " can you do it ?"

Tamao blinked , uncertain , was Anna having cravings now? " brownies ?…I guess so "

" good" the blonde threw her golden strands over her shoulders a smidgen cockily keeping her tine arms firmly folded over her chest bringing out her undeniably swollen breasts attracting the attention of the long-haired boy sitting beside her , Hao stared at her middle liking his lips " I'm hungry"

Turning a fascinating shade of red , steam fuming out of her ears and nostrils , she stud up took position then…SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP , he went flying in the air crashing butt up beside his long absent brother , yet somehow his perverted smirk never left his lips

Sighing the pink-haired cook turned back into the kitchen ' such a pervert '

O.O.O.O.O.O

" so …how did the old hags take the news ?" nonchalantly questioned Hao helping his twin unpack his few luggage after the two handled the ice-queen's unending shopping bags

Yoh smiled tiredly ,trying to keep his enthusiastic nature " grandpa started talking about university and the baby's future in the familial company …you know the usual stuff " he sighed deeply taking a small pile of jeans and t-shirts placing it a bit messily into his dresser

Hao rolled his eyes in a "yeah obviously " expression

" as for grandma , she and Anna went shopping all around town " he sighed " I spent a whole day following them into god knows how many shops , Anna brought a hundred pregnancy dresses , and things for the baby clothes and toys , I really don't get it …I mean we still don't know the gender so why the rush? "

" most women just love shopping otoutou " well most women , evidently not miss Tamamura , he still remembered their trip to the mall , such a weird girl suffering that much just to find a dress , she never bothered to take care of her image even due she had a model like body , a slim waist, tall figure , curved hips ,long dangling pink locks , a beautiful smile, kind cherry eyes ,delicately sculpted lips …shit! How the hell did he end up thinking of her?! He was going to get himself a nosebleed just thinking like this!

Shaking off his earlier thoughts, he concentrated on the mostly orange clothes held in his hands ,however something soon caught his attention , it was a little transparent sachet stashed in the least visible pocket of his dear otoutou's orange suitcase ,containing a white powder which he easily identified

Turning very slowly , very calmly he stared at his twin's back while the later was busy rearranging his various CDs , humming bob love's latest single, but sensing the extremely dark aura behind him , Yoh gulped gasping the cause of the atmosphere change

" I can explain " he began pale as facing Hao's utmost serious , dangerous blood chilling expression , that expression where his face would be awfully neutral while actual flames burned inside his dark orbs , that was the alarm signal which he knew so well, indicating that Hao was really , really pissed off and a pissed off Hao was not good news for his neck

A smirk " you can explain ?" long bangs shadowed his burning gaze , fist clenching on the white sachet " go ahead explain how this garbage got into your bag "

Yoh looked worriedly at him , he seemed badly shaken , muscles tensing the way they did when he used to engage into fights to protect the two of them of their neighbors' mockeries and insults back in their childhood , bad memories brought back by a bad situation

" oni-san I –"

" oni-san what?!" he glared at him as if possessed " tell me how the fuck did this shit get here ?! did you forget how our mother died ?! did you forget that it was a drunk ass-hole stoned out of his mind who ran over her?! "

" Hao calm down it's just one dose and I didn't buy it or anything an old friend gave it to me like some kind of congratulation gift…I didn't forget about mom ,I promise "

Just one dose ?! was he kidding or was he just honestly stupid?!

Hao exhaled no matter how much of a nutcase his otoutou could be , he could never afford to see his eyes filled with so much sadness , he shouldn't have mentioned their mother . if he was the one most effected it didn't mean that Yoh got it easy either , his otoutou suffered after their mother passed away when he changed into someone nonchalant , unemotional, in times even cruel and their father became distant rarely home , Yoh only managed to get over it all thanks to his friend , kind self and his back in the days secret yet deep love for Anna

" I believe you" Yoh's face went alight but noticing the malicious smirk curving his lookalike's lips he quickly understood that what was to come wouldn't be to his advantage" but you still have to be punished otoutou , I think I'll show this to Anna that would be fun , ne ?"

He didn't have a chance to react that Hao already dashed away and down the staircase

' no!no!no!NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'

He ran after him , heart pounding , almost tearing up ,not Anna anything but Anna , she would definitely kill him , not only that but she would probably torture him slowly and painfully till he cracks , he couldn't die now, miss his son's/daughter's birth ,he was sixteen for god's sake , such a terrible aniki he had T-T

Hao dismissed his anger , amused more than he had been during this whole week, this was just like their childhood ,a good laugh was coming ahead!

Reaching the living room where dinner had been neatly served , he smirked " oh dear Anna I have to sho-"

His sing-song voice was cut short as Yoh pushed him hard into the kitchen , causing them both to fall , hitting their heads

" dammit Yoh " he hissed through gritted teethes glaring at his reflection laying flat over his face beside him

The cursed lazy drug-enthusiast ( Yoh: I'm not!/don't interrupt I'm already late -sigh-) …anyhow the lazy drug-enthusiast as previously said looked up grinning goofily in fulfillment , he waved the 'dose' in the air " I got it ,Anna .won't. see " and **bang! **he collapsed again

Hao stud up , clearing the dust off his pants " too bad for you otoutou , I hear someone coming our way "

Instantly straitening , the shorter-haired asakura paled cupping his face, biting his lower lip, about to freak out ' not Anna ! not Anna please not Anna!'

Light footsteps neared , Hao folded his arms over his chest watching a dash of brown run in circles around him , he sighed at least Yoh was sure to learn his lesson now

' I need to hide it but where ?where?! ' in desperation, Yoh still hearing his doom walk calmly toward him , spotted a brown mixture over the table near the oven , now normally that would be the last place the stash drugs but the circumstances were far from being normal since we're talking about a carefree guy who was at the moment suffering an adrenaline rush knowing his life was seriously endangered ,sooooooo… he hastily opened his 'gift' dusting the white powder over the mixture , incorporating it all together using a nearby wooden spoon ,then in less than a heart beat regaining his sibling's side standing in salute to…Tamao?!

His jaw dropped , it wasn't Anna?!

" is there a problem ?" asked she coking an eye-brow at the two

Hao smiled way to sweetly adding to her suspicions " nothing , did you start with my paper work yet?"

She half-stared half-glared at him " I'm not your secretary "

A smirk " it's a favor you owe me miss Tamamura or would you prefer the da-"

" I'll start after dinner !" she cut in cheeks slightly colored to her childhood's love incomprehension , did Tamao and his twin get closer ?or was it just him ?

Tamao grabbed the mélange which now held Yoh's precious gift casually stuffing it into the oven

" wh-what are you doing ?!" practically yelled the younger Asakura arm stretching as if to restrain her movement, she blinked why was he so freaked out ? it wasn't like him

" I'm preparing Anna-san's brownies , are you sure you're ok Yoh-san ?"

his jaw hit the floor while his elder face-palmed himself muttering " he's ok, he's just brainless "

" I'm …I'm fine" forcing an awkward grin , he put his arm around Hao's shoulders to the later's displease " I'm just happy we reunited that's all "

Staring at the two in suspicion , she left them with a small smile , something was off…nah,no need to make a big deal out of it ,after all something was always off when it came to the Asakura twins

As soon she got out of his vision , Yoh's features twisted in panic shaking his brother's shoulders like a leaf , eyes wide " I can't let Anna eat that thing ! I can't let my kid have drugs before birth! What kind of father would that make me?! Oni-san pleaaaaaaaaaase help "

Hao shrugged getting out of his hold " you brought it on yourself otoutou"

" but …oni-saaaaaaaaaaaaan you can't leave me like this , please "

A sigh , he was sure he'd regret it , but he couldn't just ignore his baby brother's pleads especially not when he gave him the ultra-puppy dog face

" fine ,we'll find a way "

An hour later …

the twins sat baking to Yoh's room's closed timber door , both with a red hand mark over each cheek

Hao stared blankly ahead " I can't believe I had drugs because of you "

The future father grinned joyfully at him " we did get double-slapped by Anna for snatching all her brownies out of her hands but in the end everything worked out ,and don't worry aniki it was just one dose plus we shared ,I'm sure it won't have much of an effect "

Two hours later …

Grinning like a maniac a brunette boy clutched to another's waist "I see…oranges funga fufu! Funga fufu! Fungafufu!"

"hush, they'll hear you " warned his equally if not more high twin placing a hand over his mouth looking at the ceiling with sparkling eyes " it's all so pwetty, the house is on fire! "

"Anna won't like that " whispered Yoh freeing his lips

they giggled like school girls discussion their secret crushes

"hush , or else she'll come and eat us" he tugged at his short bangs , well short considering his brother's " I want long silky shiny hair like yours Aniki why can't I have long silky shiny hair too?I want it tooooooooooooo"

" I want a pony !" Hao pouted lips formed into one line "grandpa told us he would bay us a powny but he never did ! I want a pony ! a red one ! and I want it now !"

"yeah ! he lied , he's such a big nasty liar" another giggle " but he's soooooooooooooo small just like manta ! "

They joined hands getting up difficulty, backing on each other as they made their way toward the wide opened window , looking up at the twinkling dots lighting Tokyo's dark sky it was… so beautiful , absorbing especially since they were seeing the stars dance the Macarena

" I want to dance too!"

Yoh jumped up engaging the most messed up out of hell scary traumatizing Macarena dance there could ever be while Hao exhaled putting on a nostalgic air, gaze glued to the deformed night's sky

" I miss her , mother I mean …that's why I don't won't you touch these things , you're my last real family otoutou , I don't know what I would do if I lost you too , do you understand ? …Yoh? …Yoh? …Yoh?" he looked around , there was no trace left of his dear twin , shrugging he assumed he went dancing somewhere , a deep yawn escaped his lips , time to get some slumber

Whishing goodnight to the shadows and pixies his blurred mind created , he tottered his way to his room , taking his shirt off , laying down on his futon but… it was a bit strange and already very warm , he snuggled close to the source of warmness , it smelled nice , like freshly cut flowers and juicy berries in a early summer day , radiating a kind affection, almost motherly , instinctively he wrapped his arms around it then **BANG! **He found himself thrown across the room , man it hurt! And his aching head didn't make it any easier

A figure stud in the darkness , eyes glowing red " I don't know who you are but I'm definitely gonna kill you " he didn't catch a thing of what was happening too busy admiring how unicorns played basketball over his thankfully covered legs

The lights were turned on , the shadowy figure revealed a pretty shocked Tamao staring at him as if he was a crazy man running naked in the street while in fact he was a stoned teenager laying half-naked near her wide opened chamber's door

Her cheeks turned red in both anger and embarrassment" H-Hao?...wha-what are you doing here?!"

He blinked , seemingly dizzy " you're not her …she's dead you can't be her " closing his eyes , he sighed , he had to get some sleep or else his brain was surely to blow up

Tamao gazed at him , features considerably softening , he looked like a lost kid , a kid high on coke but a kid nevertheless

Smiling bitterly she helped him up " let's get you to your room"

At her gentle intonation he tiled his hallucinating head placing it over her right shoulder which made it even harder to back his unsteady steps " do you know where me and Yoh could get a pony ? grandpa said he'd get us a pony but he never did you know "

Her eye-brow twitched , she didn't know what the heck he tuck but it was surely effective

Next morning …

Hao woke up in his bed , hearing Anna scream insults as if she was about to commit murder , it turned out that Yoh spent the night out , sleeping over their front yard's bushes , he did try to explain that he fell off the second floor's window ,but the blonde didn't even listen preferring to bombard his face with unending legendary slaps

' that's karma after what you did to me otoutou , hope you enjoy '

With a smirk and partially wrecked wits he fell into well needed regenerating slumber

**NV : happy new year ! and happy upcoming mouloud ! see ya' next year **

**Hao : and since it's time for new resolutions , don't be like otoutou and keep away from drugs you insolent human annoying kids :)**

**Yoh: T-T but I'm …nevermind ,** **happy new year ^^ **


	23. Beautiful laugh

**NV: so…this tuck a month to update, but it's still as crappy as ever…yeah , that's another reason why I don't own shaman king .**

**Hao: she truly doesn't.**

**Tamao: indeed. **

**Horo: …are you guys going to get this thing going or what?!**

**NV: sure…enjoy my new source of sorrow.**

**O.O.O.O.O**

Pirika frowned at her reflection. She glanced at the clock , an hour left to go , shit all because of her stupid brother and his insistence on preparing for the damn banquet. she tried to tell him –cough- yell at him –cough- that she had a date but nooooooooooooo mister BoroBoro had to be so thickheaded! and what happened to Chocolove? he wasn't into wasting his time at first too but as soon as she opened her mouth to babble on her date he flipped and started working like a demented high speed machine in the kitchen more enthusiastic and persistent than Horo himself , showing and to be honest a great amount of energetic culinary qualification. He was even able to cook up one hundred seventy five burgers in four hours .as for her most adored brother , he merely watched the two of them work ,sweating like pigs Under the ovens' heat eating whatever they prepared than simply saying it wasn't good enough to beat the bastard aka Ren and the aho aka Hao. hell! who said they had to beat anyone?! Wasn't this supposed to be a party? A school dance? Something? anything bar a pointless showoff competition to tug at her nerves?

Such a baka onii-san she had .But well …to be totally honest, Horo wasn't the only one with the competitive fiber in the family ,she also had her own little competition going on between her and the rest of the girls , not an official one of course with girls things were more subtle …more refine and especially more malicious . you see , her competition was to prove her natural buety ,her charisma, her popularity which let's face it were the high points of the majority of her generation's preoccupations . she needed to prove herself and shine as bright as the stars , the way buety queens radiate when receiving their crowns. she was sick of Anna always getting the ultimate queen title. She loved Anna she was every torturer-I mean trainer's idol but Pirika was a confident and ambitious girl and she wanted the crown to be hers for a change , some like Tamao could stand behind and watch silently as others captivated the spotlights but not her, standing still and keeping her mouth shut wasn't going to get her anywhere. if Tam didn't get it ,she did .when she wanted something Pirika always managed to get it and this wasn't going to be the exception to the rule , she was going to beat the competition and make them all realize that she was the foremost cute beautiful adorable charming sugar in their school and so establish her base of adorers as Shinra's new and legitimate ruler.

the best and easiest way to do so was by hunting down the hottest sexiest boy she could then dragging the said catch with her to that damned party they got mixed into . at first she was aiming to get Ren Tao that guy was obnoxious with his smug attitude but he was clearly handsome and extremely popular besides just seeing Horohoro's reaction if she showed up with his nemesis/friend was worth it . Unfortunately today when she spoke with Anna ,she was told that Ren was pretty sure to stick to Jeanne, apparently the two had started officiously dating a while ago but how did Anna know? she had no idea , there were no rumors about them or else she would have known since she was very well informed of the latest scoops within their high school , really the blonde impressed her more and more each time they met despite the fact that they had known each other for quite some time now .what bugged her was Anna's secretive nature, in the end she did spend a week away in izmo and refused to even tell her why, it was unbearable ! she was sure a juicy piece of information was hiding behind it .She even tried to extract her answer from Tamao but the pink-haired girl was even more hushed then the blonde, lately she only seemed to care about writing the show's song , Pirika couldn't blame her after all there were merely four days left before the d-day , everything was ready except the opening song to the live concert which so many awaited impatiently even their share of work was finished , they used all the budget headmaster Goldva had given them to prepare a bunch of burgers , pizzas , ships and alcohol-free beverages…yeah ,not really fancy but Ryu did offer to prepare some traditional Japanese dishes to save the day and preserve the poor students and staff members from getting intoxicated . still she wanted to know what the hell were the Asakuras hiding ?

She sighed , it didn't matter now , what mattered was her new decision: capture the heart of Hao Asakura. After all who was better to beat the ice queen's sleepy prince and Tao boy then the most desired pyromaniac in Tokyo if not the world . of course Hao wasn't an easy catch she already knew he was probably planning to drag a whole harem with him to the party , but as previously said Pirika was a determined girl and she decided on her prey , she was going to capture the personification of freedom. The older Asakura twin was known to be a heartbreaker , free and wild yet she was going to tam him , conceal his little handsome face in a thousand pictures saying the king was hers . she could do it ,he was outgoing , smart , dangerous and she guessed he would probably be into a dynamic girl such as herself , a trainer who knew exactly what she wanted just like Anna , someone who wouldn't be afraid to make the first step.

That's why she decided to visit the Asakura residence and set her net around mister pyro . she planed everything right except HoroHoro's and Chocolove's interference which caused her to be so late and unprepared now .

Sighing once more , she closed her eyes tight taking a deep inhale .She had to get ready .obligations : look kawaii , fresh , beautiful and to make it even better extra hot.

Materials needed: a dress that would make her mate melt to the ground and express her over the top cheerful personality, make up , a killer hair style and some delightful perfume .

Time : 55 minutes

Ready …set… Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

She rocked her dresser flipping ups and downs. Dress, dress but which color blue, pink, yellow, green or maybe red the boy's fetish color, damn! She had so much. Short or long, sleeved, hell no! Sleeveless and obviously over knee length, she had to take advantage of her feminine legs, ne?

Man, it was exhausting. How did the other do it? Anna was way more structured than her she must plane her looks beforehand. Tamao didn't do a thing but wear her usual t-shirt and jeans leaving her long locks loose and Jeanne had people to dress her up only she had to go through this every time she had something important to do which meant every single day, but well she could do it .

Hair: magnificent, Dress: a five stars rating, make up : naturally flawless , time: perfectly managed

Be ready boy , she was so going to knock him down. She was so kawaii that he'll fall in her net, and never again see anybody but her (yeah, lets omit the fact that she was going to willing throw herself in the wolf's jaws / Hao: - howl- some blue candy for the road -smirk-/ Tamao: …why do I have to get stuck with them?/Hao: don't be jealous now Tamy , you know I love pink cotton candy more than anything else, ne?/Tamao : …I hate my life. )

Taking her purse checking out her reflection one final time in the mirror, she grinned

' so kawaii '

In her enthusiastic energy, she slammed the door open, yelling a cheerful " I am going off onii-san" unfortunately it had violently hit someone causing the unlucky person to fall to the ground, nose bleeding river falls.

Blinking in surprise at the limp body now laying at her feet, she screamed recognizing her victim

" Chocolove-kun! Are you alright?! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!" kneeling down beside the pretty much unconscious African-American teen , she cupped his face taking off the black glasses hiding his blind gaze , shaking him like a leaf trying to get him back to consciousness.

At his sister's panicked voice ,Horohoro came running their way. judging by the fact that his pants were halfway down and that he was holding one of his despicable X-magazines she deduced he must have been calmly sitting in the bathroom staring at those disgusting images while trying to ease his stomach , eating like a pig had its downfalls even he had to admit it .

The blue-haired boy stared at his sister then at his injured friend , ten minutes ago Chocolove was sitting beside him in their living room , he thought something was up with him since he didn't even crack one joke during a whole day which with Chocolove meant that something was really , really wrong. And now here he was nose bleeding over his baby sister's lap . if he didn't look half dead Horo might have considered completely killing him for being so unpleasantly close to his sister's body.

"what should we do? He's bleeding all over my dress !"

He sweat dropped, her dress? Really that's what preoccupied her now , he threw his "magazine" down , properly wore his pants up .

"Don't worry I'll go bring the first aid kit , you just stay with him ok?"

She blinked biting her lower lips "But I need to go I have an important date , I already told you "

Fists clenching , Horohoro was about to blow up , really his sister was way too selfish sometimes " Pirika…you knocked our friend down it's not the time to think about your stupid DATE!"

Cheeks filling with air she glared at him "JUST SHUT UP! I get it already"

Partially desperate Horohoro went to look for the first aid kit hoping he could remember where his father stashed those kind of thing leaving her alone in front of the fainted boy .

She sighed ,she was aiming to knock a boy down but not Chocolove and not like this!

Meanwhile a certain comedian wannabe was trying hard not to grin in triumph .who would have guessed that bumping into a damn door would turn out to be such a good chance? now all he had to do was play the unconscious victim a bit longer enough for Pirika to completely miss on her date and take care of him instead, perfect.

Looking down at him , she puffed tugging at one of his curls " What the heck were you doing in front of my door in the first place? it's your fault as well".

He was about to do something really embarrassing and that would have gotten him killed by Horo for sure but thank god once again , the door was the instrument of his divine mercy and help.

Thank you magical door , thank you kami-sama ,thank you bleeding nose.

Sometimes destiny stands beside you and today destiny knocked him down hard into heaven, how lucky.

O.O.O.O.O.O

Sitting over the sofa in the Usui house's sitting room, Chocolove massaged his temples, good or bad luck it still hurt . Across from him Pirika frowned at her stained dress's folds, it was her favorite and now it was completely ruined.

He heard her sigh , it felt almost uncomfortable to be so silent near each other Horo had returned to the bathroom leaving them alone after cleaning his wound ,it was nothing mush but he did lose a quantity of blood . He bit his lower lip thinking up a way to loosen the mood.

He grinned, of course a joke. Clearing his throat he stud up "do you know how many soldier you need to change a lamp?...one! Because you only need one person to change a lamp!" he burst out laughing expecting her to follow his lead after five minutes or so but she didn't. He gulped " Pirika …are you angry at me ?"

She looked up meeting her reflection in his dark glasses "no …it's just that I wanted to look pretty so that I can do something …just forget it , it's not really important"

Tiling his head to the left he flashed a big grin ignoring the fact that smiling made his ach worsen "you don't need to try ,you're always beautiful "

A puff "how would you know? You can't even see "

A heavy silence fell between them, realizing her lack delicateness she turned toward him clapping a hand over her lips "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to …I …I'm sorry Choco"

The boy looked down smiling faintly "Of course I would know "

" w-what?" .

He tiled his head up grinning warmheartedly " I might not be able to see you but I can still hear your laugh and it's beautiful , the reflection of your soul and the reason why I love you "

Pirika almost chocked, eyes widening "you what!? you love me?!"

He laughed awkwardly "yeah, I do"

She blinked, the sensation catching her heart was weird , she didn't love him now did she? Those kind of things didn't just pop out like this and besides Chocolove was great but not really the type of guys she was used to .

Yet she smiled in that over cheerful way of hers "so you love me?"

She laughed, Chocolove usually enjoyed hearing her laugh but now he wondered if she thought he was actually joking

"I'm not joking! I really do love you!"

"you whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?"

Gulping, he turned around to face his blue-haired friend standing straight behind his back putting on a murderous expression , steam coming out of his ears and nostrils.

Horo glared at him, ready to deliver a killing punch to his already damaged face" I'm gonna KILL YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

And with that they started running all around the house screaming insults and treats while Pirika laughed like a maniac in the background.

God she had such a beautiful laugh.


	24. Love just ain't for us

**DISCLAIM : I'm Hiroyuki Takai and I own Shaman King! …just kidding I own…well, nothing .**

**O.O.O.O.O**

Anna's determined steps barely echoing through a hushed corridor , behind a closed timber door , reaching her soon to be brother-in-law's hearing as he marked a full stop to his last paperwork for today. Before him a couple of books , some copybooks hanging over his study desk as if to remind him that he was still merely a student , a teenager , a kid …huh, it was nearly amusing to consider him as such . he glanced at the pile of elaborated files sent directly from his collaborators back in the US ; apparently some of the projects he initialed were starting to prove productive and old hags of scientists and researchers –who previously thought of him as a smug delusional psychopathic brat- needed a sixteen years old partially perverted teenager to show them what to do and how to properly execute his original plans …how insignificant .

Hao Asakura closed his biology book putting his pen down getting off his desk's wooden chair . walking toward his window , he pushed aside the half-clogged reddish curtains getting a better view of the night's spreading sky. Inhaling , he felt his lung fill in with polluted oxygen; he wanted peace , safety , a way to escape a darker part of his being , the voices , the sadness that built within his soul along the years …he was fine , perfectly fine. he just …he didn't want to be alone anymore however he would never admit it , not even to himself…Yoh , Anna , that stupid pedophile , their annoying classmates they filled the blank space inside of him with all their insanity and childish play , this was a world where he was …normal , accepted in a way or another . he was close to his dear brother and able to annoy his feisty fiancée , teas that weird Tamamura girl who turned out to be an interesting victim after all…though she didn't react as much as he wished . as a kid she wouldn't have fought back as he supposed but at least she would've blushed and sunk to her knees , that would've been amusing . Now she was …blank , like a cute doll twirling in an imaginary world of her own creation , something about her was off . he probably wouldn't have noticed in another situation but after all they did spend a considerable amount of time together to get things started for that damn show he first thought would be a good idea. Damn , he hated himself , why the heck did he get them caught up in this mess?! Or the put it correctly why did he put himself in this mess?

Of course, he was planning to use the opportunity to torture each and every person involved in his little play, getting them all out of their minds yet it turned out that he would be the one most fed up with this …it was also supposed to be a fun event, something to make proper farewells but that was off the point; currently what mattered was that he couldn't stand this shit any longer. Goldva kept babbling over his head while those he aimed to 'torture' were having the time of their lives pairing up in a disgusting atmosphere of messed up teen-romance …well ,most of them since BoroBoro was falling into depression seeing his friends construct promising relationships when Damko still acted as if he never existed ; Pirica suddenly tagging Choco as her official date didn't help the blue-haired idiot keep his cool .the midget seemed to walk slowly toward suicide having to put up with a hormonally unstable ice-queen and a naive worriedly happy Yoh .

A smirk spread across his face at the memory of his otoutou's poor best-friend tugging at his bangs like a maniac gone high , Anna really was something …in other circumstances she would have been his fiancée and who knows maybe the life growing inside of her would have been a part of him rather than his brother , but …was that his desire? …no, he already knew his aim , he knew it from the start ever since his mother passed away .A family , a wife , someone to come back home to , links and restrictions…it wasn't for him; he wanted so much more beyond everything 'average' he wanted to catch the stars , join them in the nights' parade . some would say that it was an unrealistic ambition , the fruit of instability , an effect of a teenager's fascination however it wasn't. He wanted to kiss the stars just like a pyromaniac would kiss the burning fire , go away far from everything humanistic.

Inhaling once more ,turning , stepping forward then out of his room his eyes lazily scanned the empty corridor separating his realm from his twin's then with a swift wrist's movement he opened the door to Yoh's room without further announcements meeting a scene he wasn't expecting at this hour to say the least ; Yoh was there head resting over the pregnant blonde's slightly showing belly as if to hear their unburned child's breathing. Gaining a fascinating shade of crimson, Anna straightened , getting up from her seating position over the futon she had already shared in secret with the one she loved most.

Yoh grinned , waving a hand at his brother who was still at his door holding its knock with a twisted mixture between a grin and a gap , the way he greeted him made Hao feel as if they were a million miles away while only a couple of feet apart " Yo, aniki! We were trying to hear the baby move wanna try it o- "

A legendary left slap came crashing upon his cheek before he could blur the rest of his offer out, sending him flying into a nearby wall causing some bob-love CDs to fall down high shelves in the way.

Anna glared poisonous daggers at her future brother-in-law as if pondering whether to kill that damned witness or not . he stared back at her grinning smugly in that child-like way of his " did you see Tamao? I need to know if she finally finished the song."

A heavy sigh due to relieve or annoyance impossible to translate " Kino-san called a while ago to talk to her , didn't see her ever since "

Scratching his neck , Yoh stud up " why did Oba-san call Tam anyway ,Anna? "

Her teethes gritted , why did he have to always ask stupid questions?! Was she supposed to know and manage everything in this house?!

" I don't know"

Hao scuffed "of course you know, dear Anna"

Arms straight along her hips, her fists tightened. That aho was the only one who dared address her so disrespectfully, contradicting her affirmations yet this time he was right, she knew exactly why Kino called , they had discussed it back in Izmo. She thought the demand that was to be imposed on the younger female resident was only natural since both of them owed a great deal to the Asakura family , she had fallen in love with their younger heir and was now expecting his child so she was no longer in need to pay them back, in the end she was also an Asakura now …not technically but those were only minor details . she was an Asakura her depth was paid while Tamao still had to show her gratitude in the only way she could , act as their loyal servant. Anna had a degree of affection toward her youth's companion , the two girls had spent a great deal of time together , though they were never considered as equals . her parents used to be the Asakuras' friends , taking her in after their death was a form of responsibility which she was grateful for but Tamao had no previous connection to them , they weren't her family , not her employers either despite the fact that the girl was put to work since childhood , this additional 'request' was nothing new.

Starting to get bored out of the ice-queen's glare , Hao turned exiting the couple's privacy " have fun together but don't make it too loud , ne?"

Luckily for him the door slammed shut before a tomato red Anna could bite off his neck .He walked across the corridor , lamely hearing his steps echoing in the silence , reaching the pink-haired girl's door he knocked, no one answered. How come she never answered whenever he was the one waiting outside?

Inviting himself in , he met emptiness. Where was she? Wasn't she supposed to be writing that damn song? There were only three days left before the show. Sighing , he decided to forget it for tonight he was pretty sure his 'oba-san' had given her a pleasant conversation so he could let it slid .

In search for his share of serenity he wanted to join his only love same as his twin , the night's sky was calling and his spot up their house's roof was waiting for him to come and engage his daily star-gazing ritual.

Mind stumbling as his feet naturally balanced their way up his hushed haven , there where no one was to interfere in his solitude , where mouth shut tight lips curved into a faint smile as if to charm the moon he could silently admit his reality, no need to pretend Under the stars .

There , over his roof he found a figure which had taken his place , magenta locks reflecting the moon's glow as the girl he obviously identified gave her back to him. He walked sat beside her , she didn't flinch , didn't move , didn't bother to recognize his presence.

Tamao Tamamura watched cherry-eyes blank , emotionless as each of her shy exhales left a vapor cloud in the evening's cold atmosphere. She was wearing her indoor yukata and looked vaguely chilly.

Hao studied her lifeless expression for a moment , it seemed she didn't even realize he was present then tiling his head up , he inhaled . up here the air had a different feel as if its taste filled with the bittersweet scent of the resting day , he appreciated it though he had to break its silent secrecy .

" what did the old hag tell you?"

Tamao opened her mouth , her throat was dry after such quietness , she gulped , smoothen it " I'll have to take a year off school…to take care of Anna-san's and Yoh-san's baby so that they continue their studies comfortably"

He stared at her , she didn't seem sad , untouched , uncaring so emotionless worst then Anna in her coldness , Anna hid her emotions but right before him the little girl he used to see blushing in repeated emotional overloads had no emotions whatsoever. It felt weird to see her dying in front his eyes , softness and delusional dreams fading away absorbed Under a bright moon's glow. Maybe this was her wake-up call. Focusing back on the shining dots above he figured he didn't care.

"did you write the song yet? Time is running out, you know"

"no" she paused as if pondering her next words " Hao-san…"

' Hao-san? We got back to –san ?'

He yawned making his boredom clear" what?"

" I'm not going to sing anymore "

Lazily tilting his head to face her , he blinked. She was staring at him blankly as if waiting for the world's load of secrets to be shouted as soon as his lips split , voicing out the answer to some mysterious query .

" I see, you're on crack , aren't you miss Tamamura?"

Cocking an eyebrow at her unchanging lack of expression , he sighed " if it's about the song , you'll eventually find the inspiration no need to be radical about it "

" it's not about the show in particular, I can't sing anymore"

The blank features , the soulless tone usually he wouldn't mind but this was simply annoying , she came invading his personal space and now miss Tamamura decided to bail on the shit that had been eating up their past weeks just because she didn't 'feel' like it anymore.

" you shouldn't give up something dear to you on a random erg " his bangs shadowed his gaze , out of everybody they knew he had to be the one talking dreams and persistence with her. He knew all about fighting to prove a point , to achieve an ambition , he had to persist to make it when his own family members could barely stand his attitude , his violence , his 'instability' and he ended up just fine …he was completely fine and he was going to speak his mind , no need to pretend Under the stars " if you do you'll only return to being the love-struck little girl my stupid father brought back home after he abandoned us at mother's death ,are you satisfied with your life till now miss Tamamura? Cause I can sum it up for you " he smirked in an overly child-like sense of malice " you love yoh , he doesn't result your heart breaks and it gives you the strength needed to be reborn again but still as trapped in your feelings as ever , a classic plot for someone weak "

She kept silent yet didn't look affected by his sarcastic words ,why was he suddenly cruel to her? She didn't know , she didn't care " I never pretended to know you so don't pretend to know me " she kept firm , holding his stare . fire and flames could dance within his orbs she couldn't care less , his replica's sweet grinning ones had long ago shot her heart , blowing it apart .

" that's the point " a smile almost nostalgic all of a sudden curved his lips " I'm not pretending , not here"

Watching him gaze up to his obsession ,she marveled on this strange individual she knew so little about despite all which tied their separate paths . who was he? Was he the person he impersonated on a daily basic? Was he just a kid unable to move on from his mother's death? Questions coming , going without meeting any proper answer she didn't know him that she was sure of ,however the utmost ridicule fact was that she had no knowledge of who she was either?

Though she knew he was wrong , that's the issue …he was wrong , maybe she used to be the one he pictured ;an innocent girl victim of an honest infantile infatuation but she was no longer so …unfortunately. She turned into someone , something else. When Kino called ordering her to give up a whole year of her life , a precious amount of time she was never to regain, lost forever , holding others' responsibilities , their responsibilities…the fruit of their love …she was ordered to give up her dreams , she said 'yes' and Kino-sama hung up. After that she roamed trying to figure out where she could go , what she could do to feel alive , to ease her solitude away from faces which tortured her being . she wanted to hear her heart beat hard like rock music making sure she was still alive , she still had a will of her own . as a child Yoh's smile was enough to color her face a deep red , to make her heart beat like drums in her ears , just one smile could start a gentle fire within her soul , flames to make her blush giving her hope to one day have a family , hoping in her childish fashion that he would somehow share her pure feelings …Yoh had this power , this magic that used to make her feel 'real' . her mind emphasized on 'used to' for Yoh could no longer do so . she still carried warm affection toward him but she wanted …she needed something more , she couldn't quite describe it something to fill the void within , a way for her to feel again , feel something other than loneliness and invisibility .

" why do you want to stop singing anyway?"

'why?' he said there was no need to pretend here . she tenderly bit her lower lip " it's impossible to sing meaningfully when we feel insignificant" Tucking messy strands behind her left ear , gazing up , the soft midnight chill caressed her skin " singing needs substance while I'm…empty"

Another moment of silence , between them words were rarely spoken since neither of them seemed to voice their inner thoughts aloud , lonely people keep their conversations to loneliness' folds or was it shy people?

Hao tossed his long locks over his shoulders. Empty , huh?" people always try to fill the emptiness within them , the blankness inside -which is only a prove of how much their life is minuscule- with bullshit and emotional nonsense ,turning nothing into something worshiped that's what feelings are for -building delusions feeding a thirst for an imaginary reality , if you feel 'empty' then that's the price to pay to be awake , conscious and free of your childhood's fantasies , fantasies such as 'love' which bring you down and for what? A bunch of temporary lies , it's all fake starting from the feelings you gave in to "

" it's real " her cherry eyes looked down at her lap , focusing on her yukata's wrinkled fabric "but it's just not for me"

Love…the whole damn world seemed to turn all fluffy and retarded at that word , painting darkness in shades of pink just seeing her who seemed to be the personification of that silly humanistic emotion saying it was never to be hers felt …weird almost exasperating .

Tamao realized it was getting late , it was past midnight but she didn't want to go to sleep , if she did she would only ponder over this thought ; love wasn't for her , she orphan with no routs , no family . everyone around her represented love in a way or another , Anna , Yoh , Pirica , HoroHoro, Lyserg , Jeanne ,Ren , Chocolove, Mari , Machi , Ryu , Manta , all of them in their different relationships , their links , friendship , brotherhood , sisterhood all which she assimilated to that one emotion . they were love since she truly loved each one of them but at the end she knew she'd stand alone , die alone for their paths were bound to separate . She already began to lose touch with Jeanne , her friend who was now too busy living up her new romance . she was glad Jeanne had found happiness once more but it only proved that when unneeded she'd end up alone , cold among those she loved so . indeed, each of them represented love even the one sitting less than a couple of feet beside her , Hao in his dedication to his mother's memory , in his care for his one brother was also a representative figure of what he would describe as 'so small'

" that's selfish " came his uncaring respond startling her" love , is relative ; it has no power over your will . Emptiness is the outcome of your own delusions …you surrendered your freedom for gratitude and 'love' that's why you're feeling lost , you lost freedom and the will to make your own destiny and just so you know , you're going to sing , I'll make sure you do."

She blinked "isn't love worth freedom ?"

Determination shining in his dark eyes , he smirked closing his face to hers " nothing is worth freedom it too rare too fragile of a wealth to bargain " he declared " maybe you'll one day realize that after regaining yours "

Their lips awfully close , his hot breath clashing against her cold skin , she heard her heart beat like carnival drums , cheeks heating up , her mind going hyperactive . Getting away wasn't in perspective, she would fall and in all honesty she didn't consider escaping his nearness which worried her to no end.

Hao pulled away regaining his star-gazing perturbed by their strange interaction usually , nearing a girl's juicy lips his hunter instinct would have pushed him to bite the soft tissue just to have some sweet fun but with miss Tamamura it was …illogical , dangerous .he couldn't near her since if he ever did he would wonder everlastingly whether she was seeing him or only imagining Yoh …such a weak position, and beside he had no desire to add her name to his list of conquests , she wasn't his type and he wasn't the kind of guys to settle with being the B-plan.

Tamao stud up " I'm going to get some sleep "

Regaining her room , she backed to the closed door , her heart still beating on a festive tempo , soul on fire.

It was official she lost her mind.

The next day , she'd wake up late , find a letter near her futon , a paper and a small note saying the following : " the lyrics are a gift , you find the music and hurry up , miss Tamamura. we only have a couple of days left –Hao"

She'd read , her eyes would widen , she'd take a pen compose a music that has been stuck into her brain for years , the song will be finished.


	25. Mirrors

**Tamao : Shaman king and all of us victims of fangirlish madness belong to Hiroyuki Takai-sama who's apparently planning to turn Hao into a drag-queen. **

**Hao : wanna die little girl? **

**Tamao: not if I have to stick to you.**

**Hao: -blink- what did you say?**

**Tamao: nothing…**

**O.O.O.O.O.O**

An elegant suit far from those strict antics he abhorred perfectly advantaging his morphology. Hao looked over his shoulders to observe his reflection in the full body-sized mirror positioned in the middle of his spacious room for the occasion.

His lips curved into a discreet grin. The D-day had finally come. Today he'd stand tall , spend the promising evening laughing , teasing his otoutou's friends , he'd live to the fullest those precious moments beside his cherished twin , hear miss Tamamura sing out loud things he kept for years hidden within his soul. He wanted to hear it , he wondered how she would voice aloud every single lie he created to protect himself , barriers between him and a world he came to disgust …he wanted to know how it would feel to share this part of himself with someone other than Yoh , maybe let the acts down for a brief moment , be at ease during those couple of minutes when she'd carry his words' burden.

Staring into his dark eyes, he loosened his red silky tie's noose sensing it was too formal, too strict as if strangling him to death. The stiffening feeling remained, though. Stuck in his throat, he was …worried? No, bitter perhaps? Or else insecure? All of the previous or none? it was all the same, the outcome, the departure and his everlasting overused loneliness.

Smirking, he ran his fingers through his chocolate-colored bangs. It was all so pathetic , for the better , for the worst he knew who he was . Oh no, not a stupid bad boy going through a teenage outburst, not an angel? God no! He was Asakura Hao the person he decided to be, life and sorrow didn't forge his personality, didn't force him to be who he was, is and will be. He made his choices and was ready to face the consequences having no regrets whatsoever , he needed no savior and wasn't going to wear the superhero cape to go rescue any damsel in distress or save this illogical world , he was just one selfish human who'll gladly burn the shit out of anybody who dared finger the ones he cared about because he wasn't a fool he knew and had to admit that when it came to a few select people in his life starting Yoh -his only real remaining family – he could break boundaries , hurt himself and even harm them if it meant to keep them as a part of his life; for those he genuinely cared about were rare currency : Yoh , Opacho…Anna? He once wondered if he loved the feisty blonde, she had his mother's feel to her probably since she spent her time glued to the woman before her sudden death …then again, he didn't dare demand his right to marry her even though he could've; his grandparents were so stuck up with traditions that they would've been glad to marry their elder grandson to their chosen bride as they first planned but his rebellious attitude stud against it. If he didn't have his little outbreak three years ago he would've been the one to get engaged to Anna …and Yoh would've been heartbroken, he couldn't …no matter how selfish he was, building his happiness over his otoutou's –and Anna's- misery was out of question for the two were in love -whatever that meant- what kind of aniki would torture his own flesh and blood in such a way? Besides, he would've been a terrible husband, outside of bed of course.

His grin turned perverted, He was pretty sure he'd be quite a performer in that field; wouldn't it be cruel to commit to one woman and deprive millions of others from ever sharing his nights? It would be a crime! He chuckled lightly suddenly in a juvenile mood. Oh , he loved playing games , life and death were two parts of one tiny game for him, getting attached , wrapped into romantic feelings was absolutely ridicules , don't go chanting love poems , repeating clichés such as " you can't control feelings" around him please . He could control everything about himself, his choices, his fears and weaknesses for he understood and accepted his humanistic flaws despite craving so much more then everything earthly. One of the many psychologist his family hired to help him suppress his 'issues' once told him he was a megalomaniac for thinking he could catch the stars and advised him to stop stargazing , be a good boy , act…normally. He was smart far brighter then that fraud and all the others who diagnosed him as a pyromaniac, psychopath, delusional sadistic brat and even one who thought he was autistic, stupid excuse of scientists trying to erase his cored identity, if it wasn't for his far glittering stars and his brother's naïve grin he would've responded to the razor edge's call as a child and finally returned to his mother's warm embrace, he could've done it. Killing himself was at some point quite appealing , he didn't care for all the chances he'd lose back then and even now if it meant to see her again she who truly cared , truly loved him , he didn't care what kept him from taking that final step was his brother , Yoh went through hell as well yet kept smiling , being as positive as he could just to make him feel better even after their father went away climbing the world's tops to drawn his sadness , if Yoh was brave enough to deal with death , he was brave enough to deal with life. He couldn't consider abandoning him as well.

" nii-san?"

He blinked, Yoh had just entered his room wearing a suit identical to his bar with an orange tie instead of a red one, he had a bizarre expression on, a sort of mixture between fright and amusement which felt very awkward on his usually laidback face. Hao frowned "what's wrong?"

Yoh scratched the back of his neck " HoroHoro just called…"

He sighed "so?"

"Apparently he was on his way to the train station to welcome Damko when" blinking , he beamed as if remembering an important detail " oh yeah! Did I tell you he and Damko got back together!"

Flashing a 'who do you take me for' glance at his exited replica Hao could hardly believe how his otoutou could turn a happy-go-lucky attitude into an annoying one "I know"

Blinking once more Yoh broke into light laughter "you're like the social network every schoolgirl would want, aniki"

Tucking a few strands behind his ear he smiled smugly raising his arms up as a sign of defeat "yep, but they'd want me for other reasons. It's just the Asakura charm, brother. We're irresistible "

They laughed aloud causing Anna to yell an earthquake-like "shut up!" that made grown men miles around their residence wet themselves.

"we can't even laugh in our own house"-sigh-" what were you talking about anyway?"

Remembering why he came, Yoh was no longer sure if it was worth mentioning considering he forgot the subject so easily "well, on his way to the train station Horo got chased by some girl, he said she looked foreign and kept yelling that this was all fake and that we live in another world called shaman king or something"

Focusing back on his reflection Hao sighed overdramatically "So BoroBoro met a crazy fangirl, big news"

"But she also said you were king of the universe"

A smirk "maybe not so crazy after all"

"And that I killed you in some shit of an anime then decapitated your soulless body right after you started killing off the entire humankind"

"Totally Crazy! " they cried simultaneously perturbed by the simple idea .Hao could take eradicating mankind but his otoutou?!

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Magenta, the color reflected in the mirror, staring into her own eyes, smashed strawberries trying to find inner courage, Tamao pondered incoherent questions. She's brave, brave enough to do it, sing up, sing loud, sing a dark melody tattooed into her own soul, pronouncing words he wrote …sing who he was, who he is…

She was wearing the dress they bought at the beginning of this little parade. The lace, the comfortable material perfectly fitting,curving her waist, enveloping her arms, the skirt just above her frail knees. She mused holding a cherry lipstick tube close to her lips. Makeup wasn't her thing; it felt uncomfortable like an attempt to cover up her realty. Lipstick, eyeliners and blush to paint a new 'her' when she had no idea who she was in the first place.

Allowing herself a small smile she remembered being quite curious about those products women wore on their faces , they were so stunning with their candy-like colors , their smoky eyes so marvelous , eyelashes giving a glamorous appeal to their divers gazes , they seemed so perfect , elegant while she was merely a clumsy lass blindly trying to fit in , be a part of her loved ones lives thinking she was unworthy of their care and kindness , hating her fragile nature , cursing her shy personality which caused her to be such a burden on Mikihisa-sama…mikihisa , how she missed him. He never had the chance to see who she grew to be, the person his death along with time turned her into…he'll never meet his grandson either.

Shaking her head , she closed the cosmetic putting it back into the small bag Pirika had given her saying pampering herself for once would do her some good. However, she didn't feel deserving of anybody's care not even her own; she was born to nurture others. She accepted that fact and was at peace with it at least before.

As a teenager she discovered a different aspect of herself, a new part that desired life beyond anything else, a deep need to hear her heart beat as if fearing that her invisibility was simply the result of nonexistence, that's why she lost herself to swordsmanship training just like Yoh before her, the blade had a striking glow in her possession , a glow she lacked…

"Ready for the show I see , miss Tamamura"

Half spinning, Tamao frowned at the teenager backing on her doorframe. His long locks loose, silky bangs falling down his face Hao smirked as usual showing off cat-like canines.

Hao's eyelids bat at the sight of her "you look…nice"

An awkward moment of silence went by; even Hao mentally cursed his lips for speaking so…randomly, really? Nice? That was so idiotic and very much an euphemistic word, she was far beyond 'nice'.

Cheeks turning a fading shade of red, she looked back into the glass. Nice? But she had no makeup on, and her hair was still undone.

"You look nice too"

It was nearly a whisper but enough to draw a wide grin on the brunette's face , he walked positioning himself behind her back taking a few magenta strands between his fingers unperturbed by the girl's discomfort .

"What are you doing?" she asked unable to see his movements only his face reflecting next to hers.

"We need to hurry up; Anna and otoutou are already waiting in the living room"

Taking a step forward to escape his clutch on her locks she bit her lower lip, he didn't let go and the stinging in her skull wasn't what she'd call suiting "let go…I can do it on my own"

"Oh come on, I won't bite" he laughed, she sighed. Why not, he was in the end quite a hair expert.

Relaxing, she allowed him to continue his initiative to his childish please. Hao delicately handled the uniquely colored strands occasionally fingering her bared back making her slightly jolt each time his hand 'slipped' , he didn't do it on purpose, her skin was just so soft , pure. It felt warming.

Tamao glanced at his reflection, he had a small smile on, eyes focusing on his occupation, her heart ached, how could someone look so fragile despite being the strongest person she knew? As a kid, as a teenager Hao had a power of his own, calm and reassuring determination yet he was weak in a way, he was weak emotionally and even insecure when Yoh dealt so easily with his own and others' emotions. She used to regard the younger Asakura twin for this as for him…he was a fascinating combination of contradictions. He never felt delicate or innocent but she couldn't bear it, something within her wanted to protect him …stupid , huh? But it was the truth. She shifted her head to the left ,sour as hearing a voice of consciousness screaming for her not to sing this song and expose him to the crowds , the lyrics said too much…she couldn't, especially after secretly watching him sing it so beautifully to his mother's grave. She remembered crying that day, crying with him from a safe distance, crying the way he silently did and whishing she had a mother to mourn too.

"What's wrong?" Hao was before her frowning, he put a hand on her cheek "you look on the verge of tears"

She blinked; her eyes had watered "no nothing, are we done?"

Unconvinced Hao decided not to push it "yeah"

He was about to exit when she spoke up "I…I can't…I can't do it" head tiled down, she felt bitterness and shame rise, crushing her courage, she was still so weak.

"I trust you"

Trust? Flinching, her head jolted up to find him already gone.

Heading down, Hao stared blankly ahead.

He had a heart of stone. The thing is, a heart of stone is easily shattered.


End file.
